Through the Years, Season 1: The Kanto League
by Evanibble
Summary: Niko is a 17-year old from Pallet Town ready to start his Pokemon journey. Along with his friends Fay and Jeremy, and his Pokemon, Bulbasaur, he aspires to complete the gym challenge in Kanto and compete in the Pokemon League. This story is a chronicle of his adventures (and misadventures) along the way. Enjoy!
1. Episode 1: The first Pokémon—Oak's Lab!

**Author's note: Hey everyone, this is the first installment of my fanfiction, Through the Years. It certainly sounds like a vanilla pokemon fanfiction, I am very much aware of that. However, i'm trying to come up with ideas of how to mix it up, so bear with me as the first few chapters might be a little mainstream. Nonetheless, I do hope you enjoy it and continue reading. If not, no worries. I'm not expecting to grab large audiences or get a lot of attention from this. I just want to write. Thanks!**

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 **Episode 1: The first Pokémon—Oak's Lab!**

His interest in Pokémon stems from a battle he once saw on TV. It was an Indigo League match between Lance of the Elite 4 and a trainer from Pallet town, named Blue. To him, the battle was incredible—Blue's Arcanine fought Lance's Dragonite with a grace that is rarely seen, well, in any fight. From that point on, after watching two accomplished trainers duke it out in a high stakes match, he wanted to be a trainer.

He wanted to be like them.

Niko was 17 years old when he finally decided to start his gym challenge in the Kanto region. He was originally from Vermillion City, but his family moved to Pallet Town a few years prior. Since then, he has been going to school, living an ordinary teenage life with his family and friends. He has only a younger brother—Jake—who is not yet old enough to have a pokémon of his own. Speaking of which, you're probably wondering why—at 17—he hasn't gotten his first Pokémon yet. Well, to be honest, he wanted to wait until he finished school before he went on this journey.

He was also nervous about travelling on my own at 10 years old, but let's just leave the real reason at education.

It was a bright day in late summer when he finally decided to set off on his journey. He had told his parents and brother that he had planned to do this earlier, and so they were all prepared for his "sending-off," so to speak. Niko even planned on going with a friend, Fay. They have been friends since we were 10 years old, and both decided to get their first Pokémon later, for similar reasons. And so, they both decided that they would travel together, taking on the gym challenge and eventually the Pokemon League at Indigo Plateau.

"Niko! Time to get up!" His Mom bellowed from the ground floor of our Pallet townhouse. He had been trying to get a good night's rest, but the anxiety over finally leaving home was getting to him. He has never left home before, not even for a summer camp. Fay had, and so Niko can imagine he was less nervous about leaving.

He opened his eyes and stared over at the door separating my room from the second story hallway. Since he usually sleeps on his side, that's the first thing he sees when he wakes up. The moment he realized what day it was, he ripped the blanket off and got right onto his feet. Niko was finally leaving.

"I'll be down in a minute! I need to get dressed!" He replied to Mom. Niko quickly shed his pajamas and got into clothes that befit an adventurer—comfortable jeans and a short-sleeve t-shirt (well, these aren't clothes that a prepared adventurer would wear, but follow me on this one). He then looked over at his backpack that he packed the night before. It has some spare clothes (have to travel light, right?), snacks, and a re-fillable water pack. He had planned this out with Fay earlier: they would first head to Viridian City on their way to Pewter, where the first gym in the Kanto gym challenge is supposed to be. They could get supplies there later.

"Well looked what the Meowth dragged in." His Dad joked as he entered the kitchen. Mom looked over at him as he approached her, shoving a pan of bacon in his direction. Niko returned the smile and sat down at the table nearby, next to Jake, who was busy playing a video game.

"So Niko are you ready for your adventure?" Jake said while beating up a monster in his game.

"As ready as I'll ever be." He responded, eagerly waiting for breakfast to be done.

"So where are you meeting Fay again?" Dad asked.

"At Professor Oak's lab. That's where trainers usually get their first pokemon."

"Oh right. Professor Oak is a pretty cool guy. I've always liked following his research." His Dad is a professor of pokemon biology at the local school, and so he has taken an academic approach to my whole journey, especially regarding filling up the pokedex, which he keeps insisting Niko try to do.

And he very well might, actually. He wants to see as much as he can on this journey.

A couple minutes later, Mom placed down a pile of toast next to a plate of eggs and bacon. The whole family took some and began eating. About a half of an hour later, when they finished, Niko was ready to get going. For Jake and my Dad, they seemed to get that he was ready to go. My Mom…not as much. But Niko assured her that he would visit as often as possible. She knew that this is something he wanted to do, and that he would eventually leave "the nest." However, it isn't difficult watching your children leave into the unknown. Niko felt just as nervous.

"Bye Mom, Dad, I'll definitely be back! Jake, please do well in school." he said, playfully punching his shoulder. He tried punching back, but Niko skillfully evaded his fist. He wasn't sure how much longer he would be able to do that, since he is growing up fast.

He waved goodbye as he walked towards the street and on his way to Professor Oak's lab, which was a short five minute walk.

Fay was standing in the doorway talking with another boy their age as he approached the Pokémon lab. As Niko got closer, they both looked over at him and waved.

"Hey Niko!" Fay said excitedly. "You remember JJ, right?" he nodded. Jeremy, or JJ for short, is a former classmate of theirs from school. He would always tag alongside Fay and Niko when they hung out. Niko thought him to be kind of an odd guy, but in all honesty, who isn't?

"Yeah, hey JJ. How are you doing?" Niko asked, shaking his hand as if they were meeting for the first time.

"Doing great Niko. Ready to get my first Pokémon." Niko found it odd that they would all be getting their first Pokémon on the same day. However, he went with it, thinking nothing else of it.

"That's awesome! Do you plan on doing the gym challenge too, or what?" Niko asked inquisitively.

"Yeah uh I plan on battling gyms too. Not sure when I'll uh start though." He responded. JJ takes periodic pauses when he speaks. Which, again, is not unusual. It's easier to notice pauses when they aren't coming from you.

"Cool cool. Well, let's go on inside, shall we?" Niko motioned towards the inside of the lab, and JJ and Fay walked right on in.

Professor Oak's lab was enormous. There were aisles upon aisles of bookshelves, each lined with books of varying sizes and topics. As he passed by Niko noticed one in particular on evolution. It was titled "The Happiness Factor: A New Kind of Pokémon Evolution." Another: "The Mysteries of Eevee. A World of Evolutions." Beyond the bookshelves were large machines hooked up to desktops and servers of differing varieties. It was all so incredible.

Fay was particularly impressed. He has always had a curious interest in computers and engineering. Had we not gone on this journey, he may have gone off to the University of Kanto at Saffron City. JJ has a similar interest, but he has never really shown much beyond shock and awe over how certain technologies work. Niko, for one, once tried a programming course. Didn't work out so well.

As they continued to marvel at the lab, an old man beckoned us over. "Hello boys!" All three of them looked up in tandem at a tall white-haired man in a lab coat waving. "I've been expecting you three all morning!" He bellowed with a slightly raspy voice.

"Morning uh Professor Oak." JJ said, waving his hand halfway into the air in return. "How are uh you this morning?"

"I am absolutely pleasant, JJ. And this must Fay. How are you, son?"

"Doing alright, professor." Oak then turned to Niko.

"And you're Niko…correct?" He nodded. "How are your parents doing these days?"

"Couldn't be better sir!" The young trainer responded, smiling. He had no idea Professor Oak, of all people, knew _his_ parents.

"Well that's good to hear. It's always pleasant seeing your father's work. I have a subscription to the _Journal of Pokémon Biology_ , and I will occasionally find his pieces in there. Always a grand old time." Oak then walked over to a table with four pokeballs sitting there. "Now then, let's get to business." He said, grabbing the closest one. "I have four pokémon here that we like to give out to new trainers. Here they are." He said grabbing another a tossing both into the air.

Out of the first one came a little green frog-like pokémon with a large light green bulb on the back. "Here is Bulbasaur, the seed pokémon. It is a grass type." Out of the second pokeball came an orange lizard with a flame on its tail. "That's Charmander, the lizard pokémon. It's a fire type." Oak then grabbed the last two pokeballs on the table and tossed them onto the ground. Out of one of them came a little blue turtle that stood on its hind legs, and out of the other was a brown foxlike pokemon with a fluffy brown tail. "This on the right is Squirtle, the tiny turtle pokemon, and this last one is Eevee, the evolution pokemon." Oak then looked up at the three of the new trainers. "You may each choose one. Fay, you're first."

Fay looked at all four pokemon carefully, finally deciding on Charmander. "Nice choice Fay. Charmander is going to be a very strong pokemon, I can already tell. Jeremy, you're next." Jeremy took a few minutes deciding, but ultimately settled on the Eevee. He knew Eevee had many different evolutions, and wanted to see what his might become. "Alright Niko, you're last. You can have a Squirtle or a Bulbasaur."

Niko looked down at both pokemon. This is something he had been thinking a lot about since he made the decision to start the gym challenge. The best trainers had very balanced team rosters, and raised their pokemon accordingly. For him, Niko also wanted a partner that would become his friend, too. As the son of a biologist, he had a fair amount of experience with Bulbasaurs. His Dad observed them for a study he was doing on their different types of spore attacks.

After a minute or so of thinking, Niko finally decided. "I choose Bulbasaur, Professor Oak." He proclaimed, looking up at him. The professor smiled.

"Your father would be very proud of that choice, Niko. You and Bulbasaur are going to be fast friends I'm sure." He then put Squirtle back in its pokeball and set it carefully on the table. He turned back and handed each of us the pokeballs for our respective pokemon. "These are yours. Congrats fellas, you're now pokemon trainers!" Fay, JJ, and I all looked at each other and smiled. "Now, I also want to give these to you." He said, handing them little red machines in the shape of a notepad. "This is a pokedex. It will record information and data on each and every pokemon that you meet. Niko, I'm sure your father would appreciate taking a look at this when you're done." Oak said, winking at him.

"He certainly will sir. Dad has made it very clear he wants plenty of new data to study!" Niko said, laughing, albeit a little nervously.

"Excellent. Now, that's just about all I have for you three. If you're planning on battling gym leaders, then the closest would have to be Viridian City, but I heard that one is currently under construction, so the next closest would have to be Pewter City. The gym leader there, Brock, is a wonderful guy. I'm sure you'll like him, too!"

"Well professor, thank you so much!" They all said, each shaking his hand firmly. Niko's Dad always taught me to look someone in the eyes and give them a nice, firm handshake.

"It is my pleasure, Niko. Now, if you boys ever need anything, please feel free to give me a call."

"We will!" said JJ.

The three new trainers walked out of the lab. It was about noon now, and they had a general idea of where they were headed.

"So I think Viridian City is to the north, right?" Niko asked, looking over at Fay.

"Yeah, we should be able to make it either tonight or early tomorrow. It isn't too far. We should probably grab a meal for the road, though. It's not like we'll see much out there that is actually edible."

Fay and Niko began walking to the north end of Pallet Town when they heard JJ running up behind them. "What's up JJ?" Fay said, turning around.

"Hey guys…uh, is it alright if I tag along with you two, at least for a bit?" JJ said, panting between every few words.

They had been planning this for months now, and it never occurred to neither Niko nor Fay to bring along other people. Not that they weren't against JJ joining, but it just never crossed their minds.

"Of course, JJ. We'd love for you to tag along!" Niko said, holding out my fist. JJ returned the fist-bump, and the three of them began walking under the sun, towards Viridian City. Their journey had finally begun.


	2. Episode 2: Bulbasaur vs Eevee!

**Author's note: Hey! Hope you all enjoyed the first episode. I know this next one is a little short, i'm trying to increase the length of the chapters as I go.**

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 **Episode 2: Bulbasaur vs. Eevee!**

To get to Viridian City, trainers need to pass through Route 1. On the whole, it wasn't too bad. Just fields that seemingly go for miles with little groups of trees scattering the landscape. For Niko, it really was a nice sight. Fay and JJ seemed to enjoy it too when they all sat down for lunch a couple of hours after leaving Pallet Town.

"Say JJ, you plan on taking on the gyms in Kanto, too?" Fay asked in between bites of his sandwich. JJ looked up at him with the kind of look that said "of course I am, why wouldn't I?"

"Yes Fay, of course I plan on battling the gym leaders."

"Ok ok, was just curious is all. Since we're travelling together it's important to know these things, right?" JJ replied with a nod. Fay turned to me. "You are too, Niko. Right?" he nodded.

"Indeed, I would like to catch some Pokémon before I battle the Pewter gym, though." It then crossed Niko's mind that he didn't know what kind of Pokémon he wanted to catch. Ideally, a trainer wants types of Pokémon that can trump the gym leader's type. But he didn't know what type Brock uses. Come to think of it, he don't know much about the Pokémon that he already has.

Niko picked Bulbasaur's Pokeball from his pocket, pressed the middle button to enlarge it, and tossed it on the ground to release the seed Pokémon. Bulbasaur looked at him quizzically, as if it hardly knew who its trainer was. Which is kind of true, actually.

"Alright Bulbasaur, you're my very first Pokémon, and I want to get to know more about you, since we'll be on this journey for a very long time."

"Bulb-aaaa!" Bulbasaur said in response. Niko wasn't quite sure what it was trying to communicate to him. He then picked off a piece of the nutrition bar that he was eating and put out his hand towards Bulbasaur.

"Here Bulbasaur, want some?" Bulbasaur looked at the bar for a moment, trying to see if it could recognize the food first. Once it realized that it, in fact, could not, it decided to walk over and try it. When Bulbasaur got to Niko's hand, it sniffed it, and then the nutrition bar. After a moment of further surveying it, Bulbasaur eventually grabbed the piece out of his palm and smiled as it munched on the bar. "Haha! I'm glad you like it, Bulbasaur!"

Fay and JJ followed suit with their respective Pokémon. Charmander immediately took a liking to Fay, grabbing his sandwich right out of his hands and chewing on it happily. Eevee, on the other hand, was very nervous around JJ. He tried giving a potato chip to his Pokémon, but the little Eevee looked unsure about it. JJ eventually placed his bag of chips on the ground in front of Eevee, and then laid on his back in the grass, looking up at the clear blue sky.

"What's up JJ?" Niko asked after feeding another piece of my nutrition bar to Bulbasaur.

"Oh nothing much, just thinking."

"Thinking about what?" Fay asked, putting the plastic bag that held his sandwich back into his pack.

"Nothing much." Fay and Niko both looked at each other, a little confused.

"You're not…thinking about anything…?"

"Yeah, nothing much." JJ then sat up on his shoulder and looked over at his travelling companion. "Say Niko…wanna battle?"

He thought about this for a moment. He hasn't ever battled anyone before. It would be an exciting experience, and obviously something he'd have to get used to if he ever wanted to be the Indigo League champion.

"Yeah JJ, I accept your challenge!" Niko got up and looked at Bulbasaur. "You ready to battle?" Bulbasaur's face changed into one of determination. He was clearly ready as well.

JJ, Niko, and their Pokémon ran down to the bottom of the hill they were sitting on and stood about 10 yards away from one another, with their Pokémon right in front of them. Fay and Charmander refereed the match.

"Alright Bulbasaur, let's go! Go and use tackle on Eevee!" Niko proclaimed. Bulbasaur then tried to run as fast as he could towards Eevee, but it wasn't fast enough, because Eevee was able to get out of the way quickly.

"Good job Eevee, now let's use tackle in return!" JJ yelled out. But Eevee didn't move. Instead it just looked up at JJ, and then at Bulbasaur, and once again at JJ. "Eevee, what are you doing? You have to attack Bulbasaur! That's how we win!" While he was trying to coach Eevee, Niko took advantage of the situation and commanded Bulbasaur to use tackle again. This time it hit, and Eevee fell back a couple of feet, right in front of JJ. Eevee didn't get up immediately, and when it did, it ran off, away from JJ and everyone.

"Oh, Eevee…come back!" JJ yelled, getting up and following Eevee in the direction of a group of nearby trees. Niko looked over at Fay and went over to the trees as well. They then saw JJ trying to comfort Eevee, but the little foxlike Pokémon wasn't having any of it. It was clear to everyone that Eevee did not like battling, but JJ didn't really seem to understand why. Eventually, JJ put Eevee back in its Pokeball and stood back up in front of the rest of the group.

"I'll just have to work on this, I don't know uh know what's up with Eevee. I want it to like battling, or at least to be okay with it."

"Well, you shouldn't try to push it to want to battle as hard as you are. You just yelled out commands without trying to make a connection with Eevee" explained Fay. Niko nodded in agreement. Even though, in retrospect, Niko was also guilty of just blindly yelling out commands, he figured this worked because Bulbasaur was eager to fight. Eevee wasn't. How they would get Eevee to have that fighting spirit that would deliver gym badges to JJ, none of them were entirely sure.

They were starting to walk back to the hill when Fay broke into a sprint towards his backpack, which he just left behind. Niko looked over at the hill more closely, and saw that a little ball of fur with legs and arms was rummaging through Fay's backpack. He then broke into a run to follow Fay and the hairy thief.

By the time they got there, the creature had already run off. Fay was looking through his backpack to see what was stolen, and JJ and Niko looked over the nearby landscape to see where it could have gone.

"Do you see anything Niko?"

"Nothing, JJ. Whatever that thing was, it's apparently long gone."

"What the hell was that?" JJ asked, looking over at Fay.

"I don't freakin' know JJ!" Fay shouted back. "Whatever it was, it took the food I had premade for dinner. Little asshole." Fay then closed his backpack. "Whatever. Let's just keep going to Viridian City. We can stock up on supplies there. Maybe we might see that creature on the way. And if we do, I'm fighting it."

"Yeah, good idea. We aren't too far from Viridian City. We probably have another mile or so to go." Niko responded, looking at the map of western Kanto that he brought with him from home. "And if we see that…thing, we will be sure to get back at it for stealing your food." Fay nodded in response, and the three of them headed down the hill and on to Viridian City.


	3. Episode 3: Mankey the thief!

**Episode 3: Mankey the thief!**

By the time the sun was setting, they finally could see the edge of Viridian City. Exhausted from walking nearly all day, they decided to head to the nearby pokémon center to sit down and have something to eat. Earlier in the day, Niko send out bulbasaur again to walk alongside them, so that it could also see the world around it. Fay and JJ did the same, with JJ holding eevee in his arms instead of having it walk all the time. While they were eating they decided to let their pokémon take a rest in the beds that the pokémon center provided free of charge.

"So uh Fay, when should we reach Pewter City at the rate that we're going?" JJ asked Fay and Niko, who were sitting on the other side of the table, in between bites of a burger.

"Well we only have to pass through the Viridian Forest and then Pewter City is just a little bit further than that. I'd say half a day at that point," Fay said, pulling out his map of the Kanto region. He nodded again to confirm what he had just said. "Yeah, we'll reach it tomorrow night or the following afternoon, depending on how long it takes to get through the forest."

"I've heard that the Viridian Forest is pretty dense, and it's really easy to get lost," Niko piped in. "At least, that's what my dad told me. He spent a lot of times studying in there."

"Well…then we'll reach Pewter City the day after tomorrow," Fay said with a chuckle. "Gives us plenty of time to prepare for the gym battle against Brock."

"Speaking of which," JJ said, "do we even know what type of pokémon Brock uses?" Fay and Niko looked at other, a little confused. Fay shook his head and Niko shrugged his shoulders.

"Dunno. Is there any way we can look it up?" Niko asked.

The three trainers looked at each other, then Fay got up and walked over to the resident Nurse Joy if she knew. She handed him a pamphlet with a smile, and Fay walked back over a minute later.

"Look what I got" he opened up the pamphlet with an eager smile, as if he had discovered gold. Niko leaned over to take a look at it. JJ got out of his seat and leaned over Fay's shoulder. They perused the pamphlet until they got to the section on gym leaders. It had a short profile of each leader, including their city of residence, their type specialty, and other pieces of biographical information. However, it left out the exact pokémon that they used.

"So here's Brock's information." Fay said, pointing to the first gym leader. "It says he is originally from Pewter City, is the son and grandson of former gym leaders of Pewter City, and uses rock types. He's also referred to as Brock Jr."

"Hmm…rock types, eh? So…what would be useful against them?" Niko wondered.

"Grass types, actually. And water types," Fay responded. "So only you have an advantage against Brock, Niko."

"Well that's nice! Guess I'm off to a good start then!" Niko smiled. "I just need to learn more about bulbasaur first, and I think I can beat him!"

"He is a gym leader after all, it won't be easy," Fay looked at him. "But you're right. At least you have an advantage. I'm not sure how I'll beat him with Charmander."

"All I have is an eevee! How am _I_ going to beat him?" JJ piped in.

"Oh yeah…" Fay chuckled. "Normal types don't do any damage to rock types," he said to a rather disappointed JJ. He put his hand on JJ's shoulder. "But you'll find a way, buddy," he smiled. JJ returned the smile.

"We should probably get to bed guys," Niko said, down on his knee patting bulbasaur's bulb. "We have a long day of travelling ahead of us."

Fay and JJ got up from their table and returned their pokémon to their pokéballs, and the three boys went to an empty dorm room in the pokémon center, again free of charge. After another half hour of talking, they all fell asleep.

Fay was the first to wake up, already out and about by the time Niko began to stir. When the latter got out of bed he noticed Fay was already outside training with charmander. _It will be difficult for him to fight Brock, so I'm glad he is taking some time to get to know his pokémon_ _a little more._ Niko then turned back to the room, only to see JJ getting up. He was clearly not a morning riser, based on how he looked.

"Wha-what's up Niko?" JJ responded in a groggy voice.

"Heh, morning JJ. Sleep well?"

"Yeah I guess so. It's weird waking up in a bed you don't recognize," JJ said. He was right. It was a little odd for Niko as well. He hadn't left home before, not even for vacations, and so he was very much used to the bed he has had for pretty much his whole life. "Anyways, where's Fay?"

"Outside training with charmander."

"Ah yeah, he's gonna have a hard time. I should probably go and train with eevee as well," JJ got up and went to the bathroom to change clothes. When he got out Niko was already packing their backpacks and was ready to go. The two boys grabbed Fay's backpack and walked outside to meet with him.

Fay was jumping back and forth with his pokémon. He looked up and noticed his friends walking over to him, and he stopped, instructing charmander to continue with their exercise.

"Morning guys, what's up?"

"Not much Fay, what are you uh doing?" JJ asked, looking over at charmander.

"Exercises to increase his speed and allow it to dodge easier. That'll make it easy to get around rock type moves," Fay responded, looking over at his little lizard pokémon. Niko was amazed at how ready Fay seemed to be. If he kept this up he might actually stand a chance against Brock.

He put down his backpack and sent out his pokémon. "Alright bulbasaur, let's do some training!"

The seed pokémon yawned as it exited its pokéball and looked up at Niko. Its trainer then asked it to use vine whip, in order to see how powerful it was. Bulbasaur then released two vines from each side of its bulb and whipped them in the air. Niko smiled, and asked it to try again. Bulbasaur responded with yet another vine whip, and kept swinging the green vines back and forth, presumably to get a better feel for how they move around and with how much force.

While they were doing this JJ sent out eevee to watch the other two. He didn't know what eevee could do, and while he was pondering this eevee started jumping back and forth like charmander. "That's perfect, eevee! Let's do what Fay and charmander are doing, since we'll also have a tough time with Brock," JJ responded happily. In the corner of his eye he noticed something crawling towards his backpack. As he quickly turned around he noticed a furry little creature rummaging through his stuff. "Hey! What're you doing?" JJ yelled, running over to his backpack. The creature looked up and jumped at JJ with a glowing arm. It then punched him in the stomach and ran out off ahead of him.

"Charmander, use ember on that pokémon!" Fay ordered. His pokémon released a small flame from its mouth in the direction of the mysterious pokémon, who then turned around and stared at charmander with a sandwich in its mouth. After a moment of the two pokémon staring each other down, the thief then ran off into the city.

"What was that?" JJ asked, a little disappointed that his lunch had been taken.

"It's a mankey," Niko said, pulling out his pokédex. He showed his friends the pokédex entry for mankey.

" _Mankey, the pig monkey pokémon._ _An agile Pokémon that lives in trees. It angers easily and will not hesitate to attack anything._ "

"That's it," Fay looked up in the direction mankey ran in, "I'm catching it. That's probably the little bastard that stole from us yesterday. It also looks like a fighting type, and that's effective against rock types. Let's go guys," he said, motioning to Niko and JJ as he walked into the city.

For not being a major city in the Kanto region, Viridian City was pretty nice looking. There was a farmer's market going on the day the boys were in town, and so as they were looking for mankey, they also decided to stock up on some fresh food for their journey. While Niko was grabbing some berries, he saw a flash of light brown jump onto the berry cart and then smack him in the face. He fell back onto the ground, berries spilling everywhere. Still dazed from the surprise attack, he looked up and saw mankey grabbing as many berries as he could hold and then leap off the cart and run into a nearby alleyway.

"Fay! Fay! I found it!" Niko yelled as he got back onto his feet. Fay, who was just a few carts down, responded by giving his food to JJ and quickly asking him to pay for it.

"Don't worry JJ I'll pay you back later. I've gotta catch this!" He said, running towards the alleyway that Niko was pointing to. JJ sighed and then pulled out some cash. Fay stopped midway through the alley as he spotted mankey rummaging through its loot. Niko stopped right behind him. "Charmander, I choose you! Let's get this mankey!"

"Chaaaar!" Fay's pokémon responded as it exited its pokéball. It stared down the pig monkey pokémon as mankey returned the glare.

"Let's start off with an ember attack!" Charmander released a little ball of fire in the direction of mankey, who dodged and then ran right at Charmander with a glowing fist. "Dodge it, just like we practiced earlier!" Charmander tried to dodge, but mankey was faster, and jabbed charmander in the side. The lizard pokémon fell to the side, only to release another ember right in mankey's face. The pig monkey, now very clearly angry, began a series of jabs in charmander's direction. The first few hit Fay's pokémon in the stomach, but eventually charmander was able to dodge them. "Alright, now use tackle! Grab mankey and run into the wall over there!" Fay said, pointing to the side of the alley. Charmander ducked its head and ran into mankey, arms stretched outwards as it slammed into mankey, pushing it into a wall.

Mankey returned the tackle by shoving charmander backwards and kicking it in the side with its right foot, which was also glowing. It then jumped into the air and, with its foot glowing, began to slam down onto charmander.

"Roll to the side and dodge it!" Fay commanded. "Then use ember!" As mankey descended onto his pokémon, charmander rolled away and then released as little flame as mankey slammed into the ground. Now dazed, Fay reached into his backpack and pulled out a pokéball. "Alright mankey, I'm going to catch you!" Fay threw the pokéball at mankey, who went into the ball. It wiggled a couple of times before ultimately sitting still after making a clicking sound. Fay picked up the pokéball containing his new mankey. "Excellent!"

"Great job Fay! Now you'll definitely beat Brock!" Niko said, patting his friend on the back. "And we also don't have to worry about it stealing our food anymore." Fay smiled as he looked at his new pokémon.

"Hey guys, what'd I miss?" JJ said as he stood at the entrance of the alley, hands on his knees and panting. Fay and Niko looked over at him.

"Fay just caught the mankey. It was such an exciting battle!" Niko exclaimed.

"Chaaar!" Charmander yelled excitedly. Fay looked at him, and got down onto his knees to pat it on the head.

"You did a great job Charmander. Your dodging skills are getting better!" Charmander smiled as Fay returned to his pokéball. "Now, let's get back to the pokémon center. I need to heal these guys up. Niko and JJ nodded as the three walked back through Viridian City the way they came.


	4. Episode 4: JJ gets a pokémon!

**Author's note: This was one of my favorite episode to write so far. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!**

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 **Episode 4: JJ gets a pokémon!**

After catching his first pokémon, mankey, Fay and his friends decided to heal up his pokémon and eat lunch at the center in Viridian City before continuing on their journey. During lunch, Fay sat with his two companions, charmander and mankey, discussing their first gym match and how he wanted to train with them. Niko and JJ sat in a booth with bulbasaur and eevee.

"Alright mankey, charmander, we don't know what pokémon Brock uses exactly, but he does use rock types. Mankey, you'll have the advantage, so you will be my trump card in this match. You think you can do that?"

"Mankey key!" the pig monkey pokémon cheered. Despite him stealing Fay and JJ's food the past two days, he seemed to be adjusting to the group relatively well. Fay had guessed that maybe mankey didn't have a family, and so he finally felt like he belonged somewhere. There wasn't really much of a way to know, at least now, but nonetheless he was happy to have a new pokémon with him on his journey.

"Fay seems to be really revved up for this gym match, right JJ?" Niko said, playing with his salad as he looked up at his friend.

"Yeah, he really does. It's gonna be an exciting match for sure. But we also have to prepare for ours, too!" JJ said, pumping his fist and smirking.

"Totally, I think bulbasaur is ready to fight, right buddy?" Niko looked down at the seed pokémon, which smiled with a mouth full of pokéfood. "We just need to practice your vine whip a little bit." He patted bulbasaur on the head before returning to his salad.

A few minutes later, the group was finished and prepared to leave for the Viridian Forest. As they were on their way to leave town, an old man jumped in front of them, holding a pokéball in front of them.

"Hello youngsters! How are you all doing today?" The three trainers looked quizzically at him, unsure of how to respond. "Are you all new trainers? Would you like to learn how to catch pokémon?"

"Uh, we kinda already know how to…" Fay said, holding both of his pokéballs in his hands.

"No worries kid, I'll show you how to catch a pokémon!" The old man said, gripping Fay's shoulder. "Let's go over to the edge of town, there are plenty of pokémon that we can find!"

"But sir, our friend just caught his own pokémon, we already know…" Niko said, trying to catch up with the fast-paced old man and Fay.

"But that means nothing if you don't keep at it kid!" The old man responded, chuckling. They eventually reached the edge of town and the old man jumped into some bushes nearby. The boys looked at each other, nodded, and were about to walk off when the old man leapt back out with a squirming pokémon in his hands. "Look what I found, kids!"

Niko, Fay, and JJ looked over at the man, who was holding an unfamiliar looking pokémon, at least unfamiliar to them. It was a small worm-like pokémon with a stinger on the end of its tail and atop its head. Niko pulled out his pokédex:

" _Weedle, the hairy pokémon. Beware of the sharp stinger on its head. It hides in grass and bushes where it eats leaves._ "

"Weedle, huh, well I guess maybe we should try and catch it then." Niko said, holding out bublasaur's pokéball. He was abruptly stopped by JJ, who held his arm out in front of Niko.

"I've got this. I want to train eevee a bit, too." He said, looking determined. Niko stepped back and allowed his friend a chance to catch a pokémon. He figured he would get another chance later, anyways.

"Alright youngster, let's get going. First off, you have to send out your first..." He paused as JJ sent out eevee. "Excellent, and then you…" again he paused as JJ commanded eevee to tackle the little weedle. "Okay, it seems you know what you're doing, then," the old man said, backing off. JJ then commanded eevee to tackle weedle again, but this time it missed as weedle skirted away, releasing string in retaliation. Eevee, caught unaware, tried to wiggle its way out of the sticky string, only to be tackled by weedle. JJ looked worried, and in a panic threw a pokéball at the hairy pokémon. Weedle noticed it quickly enough to smack it back with its tail. JJ, now a little angry, got down to untangle eevee from the string. While he was doing this, weedle started to run off.

"JJ, weedle is escaping, you need to go after it!" Fay yelled. JJ immediately looked up, stopped what he was doing, and threw another pokéball at the weedle. This time, it captured the little pokémon, and the pokéball wiggled a little bit before finally succeeding with a clicking sound. JJ sighed for a moment, and then went back to untangling eevee as the old man picked up the pokéball.

"Young man, congratulations on catching your first pokémon." He said, handing JJ the pokéball containing weedle. JJ took it and stared at it for a moment, having finally released eevee from the string.

Eevee was clearly not happy with how the battle went, as it then ran away from JJ and into the woods. The boys and old man looked up, at first confused as to why JJ's pokémon would just get up and run away like that. JJ then got up and ran after it, refusing to give it any thought. Fay and Niko then followed him, thanking the old man for helping them out.

"No worries, boys! Good luck on your journey!" He said, waving at them as they ran into the forest.

The Viridian Forest was enormous. Niko was correct—it looked like a dense forest. There were trees going up as far as the eye can see, with enormous logs of fallen trees littering the ground. As Niko and Fay walked through it, they began to notice pokémon just minding their own business, either feeding their young or searching for food via flight or ground travel. Niko recognized a few of these pokémon, such as weedle and the occasional pidgey, which is a flying type pokémon. They kept walking for a bit until they heard what sounded like JJ's voice, as he was crying out to eevee. The two ran over to reunite with their friend.

"You haven't found eevee yet, have you?" Fay asked a worried JJ, who responded with a depressed shaking of his head. "Well, let's keep at it. I'm sure it couldn't have gone far. It might be hiding somewhere." JJ again responded silently, this time with a nod.

The group continued looking around, also sending out their pokémon to aid in the search. They decided to split up and meet back at a clearing in the forest at sunset, when it would be far better to stick together, since they had no idea what kind of pokémon would be lurking in the dark.

JJ tossed out the pokéball containing weedle and started walking alongside his new pokémon. "I hope eevee is okay. It doesn't seem to like battling, so I should have known it would act weird when we fought you." He looked down at the hairy pokémon, who looked up with a blank stare. "It makes me wonder, too, if I am even cut out to fight gym leaders, y'know? I mean, if my pokémon doesn't even want to fight, then why even try?" He looked down at the ground in front of him, still walking ahead. Weedle scuttled next to him, also with its head down.

"Weed…weedle," it cried softly. Then it stopped. "Weed! Weed weed weedle!" JJ turned back to look at his new pokémon, cocking his head to the left.

"What're you trying to say, weedle?" He noticed weedle had a very determined face on it, as if it were trying to tell him he wanted to battle. "Do _you_ want to fight?" Weedle nodded. "Well then, I guess we can still give it a shot, right? We can't give up if we haven't even tried!" JJ pumped his fist in midair, also sporting a determined look. "But first, we need to find eevee. Then let's try and break its fear of battling, got it?" Weedle smiled and jumped in the air, clearly happy with JJ's resolve. The two, trainer and pokémon, continued on through the forest.

Fay, charmander, and mankey were also out looking for eevee, and maybe just as contemplative as JJ was. Charmander and mankey were talking with each other, clearly immersed in conversation, as Fay kept to his own thoughts. _I wonder if eevee is alright. JJ seemed really concerned with how it has been acting recently. I know he wants to challenge gyms, but what if that isn't his calling? What if he gets discouraged and gives up completely? I want him to continue with us on our journey, but what if he loses badly to Brock? Would he just get up and go home? He's going to have a tough fight coming up, hopefully he is ready for it. Actually, I hope eevee is up for it, for JJ's sake._

Fay looked up after zoning out. He stopped for a moment and sat on a nearby log. Charmander and mankey stood at his feet, both curious as to why he stopped. "Sorry guys, wanted to take a break. How about you two practice your dodging? Charmander, remember how to do that?" Charmander nodded, "great, can you show mankey how to do it? You'll both need to be in tip-top shape if we want to beat Brock," his pokémon looked up at him and then ran off to start jumping back and forth like he taught them.

Meanwhile, Niko and bulbasaur were also looking out for eevee. Like Fay, he wondered if JJ could keep up with the gym challenge before it even began, especially with eevee's fear of battling. It didn't help that weedle was a bug type, which is actually _weak_ to rock types. That much he knew, since his father taught him a fair amount about bug types from his studies. He looked down at bulbasaur, who was determined as ever to find eevee. Niko was convinced that his pokémon felt bad about its battle with eevee a day ago, since that was the moment that they learned eevee was scared of fighting.

"You shouldn't blame yourself for eevee fear, bulbasaur." Niko said softly, looking down at his pokémon. Bulbasaur looked up, apparently having been lost in thought for a moment. "Well, if that's what you're thinking, that is." Niko looked up at the trees surrounding them. "I think eevee's fear is inherent, meaning it grew up with this fear, and it wasn't any pokémon or trainer that caused it. I'm sure that goes away with age and experience, but it will take some time, and a lot of effort on JJ's part to train it." Niko smiled at bulbasaur. Bulbasaur, now considering its trainer's words, nodded and smiled back.

"Bulb! Saur!" it responded happily. Niko laughed, and then looked ahead. He noticed that it was starting to get darker, and so he motioned for bulbasaur to turn back so they could get back to the clearing on time.

After a bit of walking, Niko, Fay, and their pokémon finally reached the clearing that they agreed to meet back up at. However, they noticed JJ wasn't back, and certainly neither were his pokémon. They looked around the clearing, only to find that there was no sign of a human, weedle, or an eevee.

"I guess he hasn't gotten back yet." Fay said after looking around a giant log. "Should we just wait for a bit, or go looking for him?"

"Let's give him another couple minutes. Maybe he just went further than we did. Also remember he kinda walks slowly." Fay nodded with a laugh. They both reminisced about numerous moments during their school days when they waited for JJ to catch up after being distracted by something or the other. After a bit, they realized he hadn't come back yet. "Fay, do you remember which direction he came from?" Niko asked. Fay looked around, and then pointed in the direction behind them.

"I think he went that way. I could be wrong, though." As he said that, he heard someone yell out. Taken aback, Niko and Fay looked at each other, knowing fully well that it came from JJ. They then ran in the direction of the scream.

JJ and weedle stepped backwards as a giant bird pokémon hovered over them. Too petrified to pull out his pokédex, JJ instead opted for fighting the bird. "Weedle, think we can take this on?" JJ looked down at his new pokémon, who nodded and jumped forward, ready for battle. "Alright, let's use string shot then!" He commanded, and the hairy pokémon shot out a stream of sticky string towards the large bird, who quickly dodged and then swooped down at weedle, smacking it with its wing. On contact the wing hit weedle and threw it at the base of a nearby tree. However, the pokémon got right back up and shot something purple from the stinger on its head. When it noticed that its attack landed, weedle then proceeded with another string shot, this time wrapping around the bird's talon.

The bird then shot into the air, dragging weedle along with it as it was still attached to its own string. JJ looked up at the sight and screamed weedle's name, running after the bird pokémon carrying his own. They continued through the forest for some time while dusk was setting in around them. "It's okay, weedle! I'll save you!" JJ said, trying to run as fast as he could, but he was running out of breath quickly. Eventually, the bird stopped flying and turned around to JJ. Weedle, still holding on, trying to shoot more of that purple attack at the bird, but due to his contorted angle did not succeed. The bird was about to swoop down and attack JJ when a little ball of fire hit it in the side.

"Nice hit, charmander!" Fay said as he and Niko entered the scene. JJ looked up at them, smiling. "Now, again!" The bird looked over at charmander is it took another ember to the face. "Now, aim for the string! Let's release weedle!" Charmander then hit the string holding weedle and the bird together, and as weedle proceeded to fall to the ground, JJ ran to try and catch it. Instead, a little brown creature got there first, softening weedle's landing.

Eevee had finally shown up. JJ, surprised to see his starter pokémon, got down onto his knees and grabbed up eevee and weedle and hugged them.

"I'm so glad you came back, eevee! I was really worried about you!" He said, giving his pokémon a worried look. "Please don't go running off again, I didn't like that."

Eevee looked back up at its trainer, clearly also regretting running off like it did. It then nuzzled JJ's shoulder to signify that it wouldn't do that again. Then they all looked up at the bird pokémon, which was busy trying to fight charmander. JJ stood up and commanded weedle to use its purple attack again, which Niko corrected him by telling him that it was actually called poison sting. Weedle used the attack to redirect the attention of the bird, which Niko's pokédex revealed to be pidgeot. The pokémon then opened up its wings and swooped down to attack JJ, eevee, and weedle.

It was then that weedle leapt into the air to intercept pidgeot, and as it did it began to glow, lighting up the entire forest. What resulted was an entirely different pokémon, which collided with pidgeot's beak and proceeded to fall back to the ground. Pidgeot then looked at JJ and his new pokémon, and then flew off, not wishing to fight anymore.

JJ walked over to weedle and picked it up. "Thanks, buddy, you saved our lives." Niko pulled out his pokédex again, pointing it at the new pokémon.

" _Kakuna, the cocoon pokémon. Almost incapable of moving, this pokémon can only harden its shell to protect itself from predators._ "

"Kakuna, eh?" JJ said, looking at the cocoon pokémon. "Well, thanks kakuna! I appreciate your help. We're definitely going to beat Brock now!"

"Good going, JJ! Guess we found eevee, too." Fay said, looking over at JJ's other pokémon. "Are you alright, eevee?"

"Eee!" The evolution pokémon cooed, looking up at its trainer. JJ then brought it up into his other arm, cradling Kakuna in the other.

"Alright guys, let's uh get back to the clearing. I think these two need to rest a bit. It's been a long day." JJ said, smiling as he looked down at his companions, new and old.

The group went back to the clearing and, thanks to charmander, were able to get a fire going while Fay prepared some dinner with the materials they got at the farmer's market. JJ looked at his two pokémon again after giving them some food.

"Tomorrow we're going to uh have our first gym battle. We're at a natural disadvantage but I think we can win, right?" Kakuna smiled happily, eager to battle. Eevee…not as much. JJ looked over at it. "I know you're scared, eevee. I am too. Battling it isn't uh easy for me, either, since I'm also new to it. But if we believe in each other, I think we can win, and you can win, too." JJ smiled. Eevee looked at him for a moment with a blank stare, and then responded with a smile after a moment of thought. It seemed like JJ was making progress with his pokémon, and that made him, Fay, and Niko happy.

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 **Author's note: So we got to see some character development on JJ and eevee's part, eh? This will continue in the next episode, as JJ has to face his first gym leader. Can he defeat Brock?**


	5. Episode 5: Three debut battles!

**Author's note: First gym battle, and all three trainers are participating! It's much longer than previous episodes, but I think I did all of the battles enough justice. Let me know what you think. Also, I need to start getting these out more regularly. Gonna try to, at least.**

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 **Episode 5: Three debut battles: the Pewter Gym!**

Niko, Fay, and JJ arrived in Pewter City around midday, ready to challenge their first gym. Previously, they spent the night in a clearing in the Viridian forest, just after JJ's weedle had evolved into kakuna in order to ward off a wild pidgeot. The route to Pewter City was still far enough away that it took nearly half a day to get there but, when they did, the gym battle could not come soon enough.

As soon as the city came into view, JJ ran ahead of his friends to the pokémon center. He wanted to heal up his pokémon and then find out how to get to the gym. It was obvious to the rest of the group that he was more excited to finally challenge Brock than either of his companions. However, it occurred to Niko and Fay that of the three of them, he would have the hardest battle, since normal and bug types are naturally at a disadvantage against rock types.

They shrugged it off, hoping that JJ's excitement would be enough to carry him to victory. After all, it does work for some trainers. Maybe JJ was one of them.

"Excuse me, Nurse Joy, but could you point me to the pokémon gym? I want to challenge Brock," JJ asked, handing over his pokéballs to the nurse.

"Of course. It's pretty close to here. You just need to go up the street a couple of blocks and take a left and then an immediate right. It's pretty hard to miss at that point," Nurse Joy replied while putting the pokéballs in an automatic healer. She then handed them back to JJ as Niko and Fay arrived to heal up their pokémon as well.

Before they went to the gym, the trainers grabbed a quick meal and talked about challenging the gym. Since there were three of them, all wanting to battle, they decided they needed to decide on an order in which they wanted to go. It wasn't terribly difficult, they figured that since Niko had only one pokémon with which to battle Brock, he would go first, since—at least in theory—his battle would end the quickest. Then Fay would go, and JJ would go last. After finishing lunch, they got up and headed to the gym, thanking Nurse Joy on the way out.

The Pewter City gym was enormous. Nurse Joy was right—it was very easy to spot. It looked like a giant boulder that was carved into at the bottom to make way for an entrance, as well as a few hole around the mid-section of it for windows and a sign that read " **PEWTER CITY GYM**." As the three boys walked up to the door, a trainer came running out with a pidgey in his arms, clearly not looking happy.

"Ex-excuse me!" the young boy said as he pushed past JJ and Fay, nearly running into Niko. The three looked behind them as the trainer ran in the direction of the pokémon center.

"What was that about?" JJ asked, looking a little concerned.

"Guess the battle didn't go too well for him," Niko responded as they continued into the gym.

It was pretty easy to tell that the gym leader used rock types, since that was the design of the field in the gym—a bunch of rocks laid around the room in a seemingly random fashion. The trainers walked around the room, confused as to where they needed to go. It was made pretty clear to them moments later, when a crowd of children ran over to them.

"Hey! Are you here to challenge Brock?" one child asked. Niko nodded, smiling at the kid. "Well, he's healing up his pokémon right now. He just finished with a match and won!"

"Yeah, we noticed," JJ said, frowning a bit as he glanced back at the entrance to the gym, now closed.

"All three of us would like to challenge Brock, actually. Do you think he has time for three battles?" Fay asked the child in the front of the pack.

"I don't know, he's been very busy lately, what with helping Dad out at the hospital."

"Hospital…?" Niko asked.

"Yeah, our Dad is a pokémon nurse. He takes care of sick pokémon, and sometimes people."

"Don't you mean pokémon center?" Niko responded, a little confused. Then they heard a slightly older voice approaching from the opposite end of the gym.

"Our Dad occasionally helps out Nurse Joy here in Pewter City. He actually is a travelling nurse, and goes all over the world," The boy said, walking up to them. "I'm Brock Jr. Pleasure to meet you guys," he said, holding out his hand. Niko, Fay, and JJ all shook it.

Brock Jr. looked to be not much older than, say, 12 years of age, but he was as tall as JJ and could easily be mistaken for someone a few years older than him. He had spiky brown hair and narrow eyes, with a darkened complexion to complete the look that Niko had seen in the gym pamphlet. His voice was also nearly as deep as theirs was.

"Anyways, you three came to challenge our gym?" Brock asked. "Well, I just finished up with a match and could go for a few more rounds. Who wants to go first?" He looked at all three of the new trainers once before Niko raised his hand. "Alright, Niko was it? How many pokémon do you have? How many badges?"

"Uh, I have one pokémon and no badges. None of us have badges actually," Niko responded.

"And Fay and I have uh two pokémon each," JJ said, piping in.

"Alright, no worries Niko, we can have a one versus one battle. Are you ready?" Niko nodded his head, albeit a little nervously. "Great, let's get started then!" Brock said, running off to the far end of the battlefield. Fay, JJ, and the children went into the stands on the east end, and Niko went to the opposite end of the field, which was closer to where they had all been standing previously.

"This will be a one versus one pokémon battle against challenger Niko from Pallet Town," the judge directed. "The first pokémon to faint will be the loser of the match. Any questions?" The judge turned to both Brock and Niko. Both shook their head, indicating they were ready. "Alright, then let the battle begin!"

"Alright onix, let's get this started!" Brock exclaimed, throwing out a pokéball containing a large snake-like creature covered in boulders. Niko shuddered at the giant pokémon staring down at him. He had never seen anything so big before.

"R-right, bulbasaur! I choose you!" Niko tossed out his only pokémon, who came out and looked back at him. "This is our first gym battle! Are you ready?" Bulbasaur nodded decisively, giving Niko a little bit of hope that they might be able to pull this off. "Then let's make this a battle to remember! Vine whip!"

Bulbasaur jumped forward, releasing two vines from the bulb on his back as he landed. The vines barely reached onix, who retaliated with a swipe of its tail to block the attack. Niko frowned. He suddenly realized this might be a longer battle than he expected. Brock then ordered onix to use tackle. The rock snake pokémon then lowered its head close to the ground and slithered right towards bulbasaur, who was barely able to get out in time. Niko then commanded another vine whip, which successfully hit onix in the face, causing the giant pokémon to crash into the ground.

"Nice dodge, Niko, but we aren't through yet. Onix! Use rock throw!" Onix then whipping its tail towards a nearby rock protruding out of the ground, and smacked in bulbasaur's direction. This time the seed pokémon could not evade in time, and was hit in the side by the rock. Bulbasaur skidded across the dirt-covered floor of the gym, right in front of Niko.

"We can't give up yet, can you get up?" Niko asked, bending down to look at his exhausted pokémon.

"Bulb…bulba!" Bulbasaur affirmed, standing back on his four legs. Both trainer and pokémon turned back towards onix.

"Alright bulbasaur, let's start off with a tackle! Aim for the head!" Bulbasaur ran right for onix, who did not seem to move for the duration of the attack. Brock knew that onix could endure it.

As bulbasaur was getting closer to onix, Niko then ordered a vine whip right on the head. Bulbasaur did as told, but onix was faster. It quickly grabbed the vine and spun bulbasaur around, throwing it across to the west end of the gym. Niko clenched his teeth, but when bulbasaur got back up, he looked around at the rocks on the field, and got an idea.

"Bulbasaur, grab onto the closest rock with vine whip! Then pull yourself towards it!" Niko yelled. His pokémon wrapped its vines around a nearby rock and pulled itself towards the object. "Now swing off of it onto another one!" Bulbasaur did as told, nearly missing the next closest rock. "Okay, we can do better, now do it again!" Bulbasaur kept going. "And again!"

"What's Niko doing?" JJ asked, curious as to this surprise tactic. Fay was rubbing his chin, also pondering the newfound strategy.

"I think he is trying to build momentum, but I'm not sure what for. It seems like a silly tactic."

"Alright onix, smack down the rocks! Let's break this strategy!" Brock directed. Onix then slashed its tail around, shattering any rocks it could find. But it was too late. Bulbasaur was now moving from rock to rock fast enough that it no longer needed them.

"Bulbasaur! Leap onto onix's head! And don't give in!" Bulbasaur then launched itself into the air towards the rock snake, successfully landing on its head. As onix was trying to shake it off, bulbasaur was gripping on the horn on onix's head, but barely so. "Now, vine whip! And again!" Niko screamed as bulbasaur slashed at onix's eyes and face with the twin vines. Eventually onix seemed to have enough, and bulbasaur was thrown onto the ground.

Onix also collapsed, clearly exhausted from the fight. As was bulbasaur, but the seed pokémon collapsed second. Niko had won.

"Onix is unable to battle, bulbasaur is the winner. The victory goes to Niko from Pallet Town!"

Niko ran over to his pokémon and skidded on his knees to hug it. "We did it buddy! I'm so proud of you!" he said, a single tear running down his face. Bulbasaur looked up at his trainer and smiled.

"Bulb…ahhh."

"Niko, congratulations, you have received the boulder badge as proof of your victory here today," Brock said, reaching into the pocket of his cargo pants and handing over a small gray badge in the shape of an octagon. Niko grabbed it and then held it in his fist for a moment, overjoyed that he was able to win his first gym battle. "Now, let me heal onix up, and then I'll battle…" Brock paused, looking at Fay and JJ.

"I'll go next," Fay said. Brock nodded, and ran back to his end of the field to go heal his pokémon. "Congrats, Niko! That's incredible. I didn't think that momentum strategy would work!"

"Thanks Fay. To be honest, neither did I!" Niko said, chuckling a little. "It was just impulse, I guess."

"Well, it definitely worked!" JJ said as the two walked back into the stands. Fay then went to the same end of the field Niko had been on, ready for his own match.

Brock had returned, now holding two pokéballs. "Alright Fay, two on two?" Fay nodded. "Then let's begin. Geodude! I choose you!" Brock threw out a pokéball containing an unfamiliar pokémon. It was a rock, about a foot or so in diameter, with two arms with fisted hands protruding from what seemed to be its head.

"I see," Fay said as he examined the geodude. "Let's go charmander!" out of the pokéball came Fay's lizard pokémon. "Use ember!" Charmander blew a series of small flames at the rock pokémon, who responded by grabbing the embers with its outstretched hands.

"Geodude, use tackle!" Brock commanded as his pokémon rushed at charmander.

"Dodge it, charmander! Remember what I taught you!" Charmander nodded at his trainer as he jumped out of the way, albeit a little too early, as geodude changed course and slammed into the little lizard pokémon. Fay then ordered it to use ember, up close and in geodude's face. This attack seemed to land, with the rock pokémon gripping its head as it tried to put out the embers. "Now, use tackle!" Charmander took a few steps backward and then ran at geodude, hitting its opponent square in the face with its shoulder. Geodude hovered back a few feet, clearly damaged by the barrage of attacks.

"Alright geodude, now use mega punch!" Brock yelled out. Geodude's fist glowed, and it shot like a bullet at charmander.

"Dodge it now!" Fay called out, and his pokémon was able to evade just in time. "Now, use ember!" Charmander unleashed a flurry of little embers at geodude's right side, enveloping the rock pokémon in flames. Then geodude crashed onto the ground, down and out.

"Geodude is unable to battle, charmander wins. Brock will now use his second pokémon," the judge turned to the gym leader as he sent out onix again.

"Onix, use rock throw!" Brock said as onix smacked one of the few remaining rocks at charmander who, now pretty tired, barely got out of the way. "Alright, use tackle then!" Brock commanded, and his rock snake pokémon slithered across the ground and hit charmander hard enough to launch it into a nearby wall.

"Charmander is unable to battle, Fay will now send out his second pokémon," the judge turned to Fay.

"Mankey, come on out!" Fay said as he threw out the pokéball containing the pig monkey. "Let's start off with a karate chop!" mankey charged at onix, its hand glowing white. As it got closer, it leapt into the air and came crashing down onto onix, who retaliated by lifting its head fast enough to hit mankey in return. The pig monkey pokémon fell to the ground and struggled to get back up. "Mankey you can do this, get up!" Fay commanded, a hint of concern in his voice.

"Gee, this should be an interesting fight. Fay has the advantage but it seems that Brock isn't letting up at all," JJ examined, pondering the battle. Niko looked over at him, and then down at the children in the rows in front of them. They were all cheering for Brock. No surprise there—they looked like his siblings, or friends of his.

"Alright mankey, let's go with another karate chop, this time at its midsection!" Fay ordered. Mankey ran forward again, but onix got in his way as it slammed its head into the ground in hopes of hitting the pig monkey. When he failed, Fay commanded mankey to leap onto its head and use karate chop there instead. Mankey obeyed, and slammed its glowing hand onto the rock snake's forehead. Onix roared in pain as mankey jumped off its head and used karate chop on its midsection as originally intended.

Brock stood there in silence, watching to see if onix was able to get back up. It certainly tried, but fell back to the ground, shaking the gym in the process.

"Onix is unable to battle! Fay from Pallet Town is the winner!" the judge called out. Brock and Fay then walked to the middle of the field, having returned both of their pokémon and thanking them for the hard fought battle. The gym leader then pulled out another badge from his pockets and handed it to Fay.

"Thank you for the battle, Brock. I really enjoyed it!" Fay exclaimed, pinching the badge between two fingers and smiling a little.

"My pleasure, Fay. Your pokémon look well taken care of. Keep it up, and I think you'll go far in the Indigo League," Brock then turned to JJ. "Your turn, right?"

"Yes, I'm ready," JJ looked determined now. He wanted to fight Brock more than any of his friends. The gym leader ran back to his healing station for a second time while JJ walked to his side of the field. Within moments both were ready once again.

"Alright, this will be a two versus two battle again." Brock yelled out in JJ's direction as the judge then lifted both arms indicating that the battle was ready to start. "Geodude, come on out!" Brock said, letting out his first rock pokémon.

"Ah yeah, geodude," JJ then threw out his own pokémon, "Kakuna, I choose you!" Brock gave him a curious look.

"Kakuna eh? Interesting choice. This'll be fun, I think. Geodude, use mega punch!" the rock pokémon rushed at kakuna with a glowing fist as JJ asked his pokémon to use harden in return. Both attacked collided, and kakuna flew backwards past JJ. Geodude, on the other hand, didn't seem as damaged.

"Are you alright bud?" JJ asked as he looked over at his pokémon. Kakuna nodded and hopped back onto the field. "Then use string shot! Let's try and immobilize it," the cocoon pokémon then shot out string and wrapped it around geodude's arm. Kakuna then began to twist its body left and right as it tried to swing geodude around. However, it was clear that geodude was much heavier than both JJ and kakuna had believed.

"Geodude, mega punch!" Brock commanded. Geodude then pulled its arm backward, therefore pulling kakuna forward. "And…now!" Geodude then slammed its fist into kakuna, knocking it into the ground. The cocoon pokémon skidded on the ground and into JJ, covering the floor of the gym in a cloud of dust.

"Kakuna is unable to battle! Geodude wins. JJ may now choose his second pokémon!" the judge directed.

"JJ didn't even attack geodude. What's going on?" Niko wondered, troubled at the state of the battle.

"Not sure but, again, he is at a huge disadvantage already," Fay responded, showing the same look of concern.

"Alright eevee, I choose you!" JJ said, calling out his starter pokémon. The evolution pokémon looked up at its trainer, who smiled in an attempt to encourage it. "You can do this, eevee." JJ said, nodding a little with a smile. "Let's use tackle."

Eevee ran up at geodude, who quickly dodged and slammed its fist into eevee's side, sending it into the wall below the stands and right next to the judge. Everyone looked over at eevee curiously, waiting to see if it got back up. After a couple moments, it did, albeit barely.

"Yes eevee! We got this!" JJ said, as he tacitly told eevee what to do. It then kicked up some dust from the ground to cover itself, and the field nearby it. Geodude examined the dust cloud to see where its opponent would emerge. JJ waited a minute, and as the dust cloud dissipated, eevee was gone. But there was a hole in the ground next to the judge. "NOW eevee!" JJ commanded as eevee popped out of the ground under geodude, knocking the rock pokémon into the air. "And tackle it as it lands onto the ground!" the evolution pokémon then ran into geodude as it was a foot off of the ground, and both pokémon landed on the ground. Only eevee got back up.

"Geodude is unable to battle, eevee wins!" the judge said. Brock then sent out onix for the third time. Eevee looked intimidated by the size of the rock snake pokémon, who once again dove into the ground for a tackle attack as Brock had commanded. Eevee could not evade in time, and was sent flying right into JJ, causing both to fall to the ground. "Uh, now eevee is unable to battle. And the winner is gym leader Brock!" the judge exclaimed.

Fay and Niko stood up as JJ sat on the ground cradling eevee. He looked completely shell-shocked.

"JJ, you fought excellently. I totally didn't see that dig coming." Brock said, holding out his hand to pick JJ up. The gesture wasn't returned as the defeated trainer looked down at his pokémon. Fay and Niko had finally approached their friend and sat next to him.

JJ then stood up, looked at Brock, and walked out of the gym, slouching his shoulders a little as he did so.

"You two should go and see what's up with him," Brock gestured after a couple of minutes. "And when you're done, you're all welcome to come by for dinner with our family. I think Dad will be home tonight."

"Will do, and thanks, Brock," Fay said while nodding. Niko then motioned him to join him as he walked out of the gym.

JJ was sitting at a nearby bench with eevee and kakuna flanking him on both sides. He seemed to be talking to them, but Niko couldn't quite make out what he was saying. They all looked up as they saw the two trainers approaching.

"Hey JJ, you alright?" Niko asked, sitting down next to kakuna. He rubbed the back of the cocoon pokémon's head in an attempt to comfort it. It seemed to be working, as kakuna didn't try to retaliate with a poison sting.

"I'm okay, I uh guess," JJ responded, looking back at his friend. "I just don't think I'm cut out for this. I mean, you both had a much easier time beating Brock. I barely got past his first pokémon."

"Don't count yourself out, you had one setback," Fay reassured his friend, sitting down next to eevee and rubbing its back. Eevee purred a little to indicate how pleased it was. "We all have them."

"True. I just think maybe I'm not destined to compete in the pokémon league. Maybe I should try something else instead," JJ said, standing up to face his friends. "I've talked it over with eevee and kakuna, and I've decided to give up on the gym challenge, but I won't give up on being a trainer. I still want to travel with you guys, and see the world and meet new pokémon. I want to keep training and be on this adventure with both of you," JJ said with resolve. Niko got up and patted him on the shoulder.

"We would love to have you come with us," Niko said with a warm smile. "You're our friend, and we will make sure that you be the best trainer that you can possibly be!"

"And we'll find you a new goal. Together," Fay said, patting JJ's other shoulder. Eevee and kakuna cheered as well as the five came together in a group hug. Fay, who normally doesn't hug others, even agreed to this. "Now, let's head back to the gym. Brock said that we could stay for dinner."

"Wow! That's uh awesome!" JJ exclaimed, and the three headed back to the gym as the sun began to set on Pewter City.

* * *

"Well, so my son tells me that you three are taking on the gym challenge," the elder Brock asked the three boys mid-bite into their food. JJ was the first to respond.

"Err, only two of us. I decided to not challenge gyms," both Brocks looked at each other, the elder one chuckling a little. He then looked back at JJ.

"Trust me when I say that I know what it's like to change goals. I used to be the gym leader here, but I decided that it wasn't really my calling. I then tried out pokémon breeding, and when I didn't feel that was right, I then got into nursing, and look where I am now. I travel the world helping people and pokémon. I also got to travel with one of the greatest trainers I've ever met, so I'd say you're still on the right path, as long as you believe in yourself and never give up. That's what my friend told me."

The three boys looked at each other for a moment. It didn't immediately dawn on them, but looking back at this interaction, they would later realize who they were actually talking to.

"Well, thanks uh Brock. I really appreciated that," JJ said, looking back down at his food. He then rubbed his short, yet curly, blonde hair out of nervousness.

"Anytime. So, where are you boys headed next?"

"We don't exactly know yet. I guess the next gym…?" Niko asked, shrugging his shoulders.

"Oh…haha!" Brock started laughing again, as if recalling a funny joke. "You boys will love the Cerulean gym. I also used to travel with the leader there. At least, I think she's still the leader. Either way, please give Misty my regards if you run into her."

"Will do Brock," Fay said as he finished his meal. "And again, thank you so much for the food. It means a lot."

"Anything for aspiring young trainers like yourselves. You know, you two have a real shot at doing well in the Indigo League, from what my son told me about your battles. Niko, that momentum strategy is crazy as hell, yet you somehow pulled it off," Brock nodded, looking directly at the young trainer. "Reminds me of something my friend would do. Keep it up."

"Thank you Brock," Niko said, also finishing his meal. The three trainers stood up from their chairs and headed out of the gym and back to the pokémon center, where they would rest for the night until resuming their journey in the morning, this time for Cerulean City.

* * *

 **Author's note: So now only Fay and Niko are challenging gyms? What will JJ do now as his goal is going to change? Also, what did you think of the interactions with the older Brock?**


	6. Episode 6: Tricks of the magikarp trade!

**Episode 6: Tricks of the magikarp trade!**

The sunrise blanketed Pewter City in an orange glow as Niko exited the pokémon center. The group had spent the previous couple of days exploring the city. It was partly as a reward to themselves for beating Brock and winning their boulder badges, but also because of the unique attractions that the northwestern city had to offer. The one they had enjoyed the most was the museum, where JJ had purchased—albeit spontaneously—a piece of old amber as a souvenir.

Niko had been the last one to wake up, which was odd since usually that role was reserved for JJ. But he had been exhausted from walking around all day. Since they had started their journey, they had taken regular breaks from walking. Niko hadn't spent so much time on his feet. That, and he went to bed last, so naturally he would wake up before. JJ and Fay had already headed to the market to stock up on goods before heading off to Cerulean City which, according to Brock, was over a week's journey away.

Most of the journey would take place in Mt. Moon. It was the highest point in the Kanto region, and well-known for being the home to pokémon that aren't seen anywhere else. So for the trainers, it would be more than just getting to Cerulean City. It would hopefully be one of the highlights of their journey thus far.

"Niko!" the young trainer turned his head to see JJ and Fay walking over to him from his left. JJ was carrying some bags of groceries in his hands, Fay walking alongside him while examining the map in his hands.

"Hey JJ!" Niko responded. "You guys finished shopping?" Fay nodded, still looking at his map. "Sorry for waking up late, I was pretty tired yesterday," he laughed, scratching the back of his head while admitting his self-proclaimed mistake.

"No worries, Niko. We got it all done early, and so we can save some time later on. Remember, Brock said it would take a while to get to Cerulean City, so we needed to get this done before we left. Might as well get it done early on, right?" Fay looked up from his map. "We need to pass through route 4 before getting to Mt. Moon. It looks to be at the base of the mountain range up ahead."

And so the group moved along towards the city limits. As they were about to leave the city, JJ noticed a blur of light brown swoop past one of his bags, knocking both him and the food onto the ground.

"Owwww! What…what was that?" JJ said, stammering back onto his feet and quickly glancing around to see where his food had gone.

"JJ, are you okay?" Niko asked, getting down to grab some of the food on the ground. Luckily most of them—mainly the fruit—were protected by smaller bags.

"Well…whatever. Let's keep going," JJ said as he threw his backpack over his light gray hooded sweatshirt, pulling the hood back over the top. He stepped forward, ahead of the group, and continued walking on. Fay and Niko looked at each other before moving on as well.

Like Fay mentioned, route 4 was on the side of a mountain range, culminating in the behemoth that is Mt. Moon. Along the way, the gang found a pair of trainers itching for a battle.

"Bulbasaur, use tackle, right for metapod!" Niko commanded his only pokémon. Bulbasaur ran forward, using its vines to grab onto a nearby tree to swing around and launch itself at the bug pokémon. Despite having used harden a few times, metapod seemed to have lower defensive capabilities than usual. However, that didn't mean it was out of the fight.

"Keep it up metapod, use string shot! Let's slow bulbasaur down!" the trainer ordered, flicking his bug catcher's hat as he spoke. Metapod then berated its opponent with white string, slowing the seed pokémon down. The two battlers were tied together, neither giving in as bulbasaur tried to release himself and metapod held on for the sake of the fight.

"Ok ok ok…" Niko thought hurriedly, trying to come up with a new strategy. He then looked around at his environment, and came up with an idea. "Bulbasaur let's finish this! Use vine whip on the branch above you!"

Bulbasaur looked up at its target, unleashing its two green vines onto the rather large branch. He then jumped into the air a little, and began the process of pulling himself up. Unfortunately for metapod, the vines were stronger, and bulbasaur managed to drag the bug pokémon across the field and directly under the tree that Niko's pokémon was now hanging from.

"Now use tackle!" Niko yelled as bulbasaur let go of the branch to slam down onto metapod, ultimately defeating it.

The bug trainer returned metapod to its pokéball and walked over to Niko, a little upset but nonetheless happy with the battle overall. "Thanks for that, I think I learned a little from you! No wonder you got the boulder badge." He said, shaking Niko's hand.

"Anytime! Yeah, bulbasaur is really pulling through for me." Niko said, looking down at his pokémon, who was now trying to get out of the mess of string.

"Do you have any other pokémon? I'm sure you'd be even stronger with more of them!"

Niko thought about that for a moment. He did want to catch more pokémon, but he just hasn't run into any recently, at least none that he wanted on his team. He wanted to find pokémon with potential, ones that would help him win the Indigo League.

"No, only bulbasaur right now. I just started my journey, so I haven't gotten the chance to catch any new pokémon," Niko replied.

"Well, I've got to get going. Thanks again for the battle, and good luck with the gym challenge!" the bug trainer said, waving as he ran off with his friend, who had just finished battling Fay and his charmander.

The group sat down for lunch with their pokémon a little bit later, where the mountain met the field under it. Fay collected a campfire together and had charmander light it up while he cooked some vegetables that he and JJ bought in Pewter City. Niko sat with bulbasaur, petting his bulb while they waited for food to finish cooking.

As they were eating their cooked lunch, the light brown blur struck again, this time taking Niko's food by surprise. While eating a cooked vegetable, Niko felt something swoop down and steal the contents of his paper plate, causing him to fall backwards onto the grass behind him, the remainder of his lunch flying through the air and landing back down on him. He looked up at the sky, noticing a little bird perched on a nearby branch, eating the vegetable and looking at him, as if it was mocking him a little.

"That must have been the thing that stole our food last time," JJ pondered. "Let's try and get it, eevee use tac-huh?"

Niko had beaten JJ to the punch, as bulbasaur was already running to the tree trunk to try and knock the bird off balance. However, the bird was faster, and flew away. "Bulbasaur turn around and use vine whip!" Niko commanded. The seed pokémon then flipped around and launched its green vines out to the bird, this time gripping its talon. "Throw it down!"

"Bulbaaaa!" the grass pokémon said, thumping the bird onto the ground. Niko grabbed his pokédex in the meantime. Holding it up in the direction of the bird, it said:

" _Pidgey, the tiny bird pokémon. A common sight in forests and woods. It flaps its wings at ground level to kick up blinding sand._ "

"Pidgey, huh. Must be related to the pokémon we saw in Viridian Forest," Niko noted. "Alright well, I'm going to catch you, pidgey!" Niko yelled, throwing out a pokéball, which enveloped the tiny bird and fell to the ground. Everyone waited as the ball shook a few times, but ultimately stopped. Niko ran over to pick up the ball.

"Nice job uh Niko. You finally caught a pokémon!" JJ patted his friend on the shoulder as Niko looked at the pokéball. He threw it back up in the air.

"Hey, pidgey," Niko said, looking at the new addition to his team, who was flying at eye-level with its new trainer. "I hope we can get to know each other. I want you to join my team. This is bulbasaur, my other pokémon. And these are my friends, JJ and Fay. We're all travelling together to collect gym badges and compete in the Indigo League, and I chose you to help me with that. Whaddya say?"

Pidgey looked curiously at Niko for a moment before chirping a little, indicating that it was trying to communicate. Judging from its facial expressions, Niko figured that it was at least somewhat okay with travelling, and not upset in the slightest. Niko smiled at this, and turned to his friends while bulbasaur got acquainted with its new friend. The three trainers then packed up and continued along route 4, keeping their pokémon out with them this time.

The sun was beginning to set when they finally reached a pokémon center at the base of the mountain, where they had planned to stay for the night before heading into Mt. Moon. They walked in to heal their pokémon when they noticed how busy it was. For a pokémon center, this seemed to be rather unusual, since it suggested that maybe there was an attack or some other event that forced so many pokémon to battle. Fay walked up to Nurse Joy to inquire further.

"Hey Nurse Joy, what's going on? Why is it so busy all of the sudden?" Nurse Joy turned to Fay, looking a little defeated.

"All of these trainers just came from inside Mt. Moon. Supposedly there is something inside there that harms any pokémon that gets near it. Could be a trainer, or just a wild pokémon. No one else seems to know."

"Well, is there anything that we can do to help?" Niko asked, flanked by bulbasaur and pidgey.

"At the moment, I think we have it covered. We brought in reinforcements from Pewter City to help out. But if there are any problems, we will definitely ask you. Do you plan on staying the night?" Niko and Fay nodded. "Perfect, let me get you boys a key to one of our rooms." Nurse Joy cheerfully walked over to a lockbox and pulled out a key. "Looks like you got the last available room!"

"Oh wow, thanks Nurse Joy!" Niko cheered. It seems like the quick conversation lifted everyone's spirits a little, as Nurse Joy hummed as she got back to work nursing an injured geodude.

The boys began to walk to their room when they were intercepted by a hefty man blocking the hallway. They looked up at the man, who was a solid foot taller than JJ, who was the shortest in the group by an inch or two.

"Umm…can we help you?" Fay asked, staring the tall, big-boned man down.

"Howdy boys! Say, how would you guys like an _EXTREMELY RARE_ pokémon?" He said, holding out an ordinary pokéball, shoving it in front of the group.

"Err…" Niko responded, giving the man a skeptical look. "What's the catch…?"

"No catch!" the man yelled back. Niko could see the spit raining from his mouth. He then eyed Niko, looking at the young trainer over his dark sunglasses. "Besides, well, a couple hundred pokédollars. Whaddya say boy!?"

Niko, JJ, and Fay looked at each other, as if speaking telepathically. Then they nodded, and all looked at the man together.

"I'll take it." Fay said, reaching into his pocket and pulling out what the man asked. As he was handing the man the cash, he asked what kind of pokémon he would be getting.

"Oh, you'll see. Like I said, it is EXTREMELY RARE!" He said, again raining spit onto the ground. He then pulled back, laughing loudly with the cash in one hand and the pokéball in the other. "Anyways, thanks boys! Enjoy the pokémon…hehehe." The man said, chuckling as he passed by the group, dropping the pokéball into Fay's hand.

Fay looked at his new pokéball, taken aback by the behavior of the strange man. "What the hell did I just agree to…?"

"Open it up, see what's inside!" JJ exclaimed. Fay then opened up the pokéball, only to see a red fish flopping on the ground. They all looked stunned at the big fish jumping up and down in the middle of the hallway. Niko pulled out his pokédex:

" _Magikarp, the fish pokémon. In the distant past, it was somewhat stronger than the horribly weak descendants that exist today._ "

"Oh…my…god…" Niko stared down at magikarp. "Dude…you got ripped off…"

"It sure seems like that, Niko," Fay said in a quiet tone. "Oh well, I'm sure that I can make this work. Just because the pokédex says magikarp are weak, but that doesn't mean this one is. We're going to work on this one," Fay said, returning magikarp to its pokéball.

The gang finally retired to their room for the night, Niko and Fay with a new pokémon each. They would need them for the difficult journey ahead, as they headed for Mt. Moon in the morning.

* * *

 **Author's note: Yeah, a shorter episode than last time, I know. This was really to set up pidgey and magikarp as new characters, both of whom I plan to give more personality to in coming episodes. I hope you enjoyed it, and stay tuned for the next one, where the group heads to Mt. Moon!**


	7. Episode 7: Clefairy in the moonlight!

**Episode 7: Clefairy in the moonlight**

Niko was awoken early in the morning by an alarmingly loud sound. Looking up, he noticed Fay and JJ were just as confused as he was. He threw back his blanket and leapt out of bed, plugging his ears as he journeyed to the nearby door. Opening it, he noticed other trainers doing the same as they exited their room to walk down the hallway. Niko followed them, Fay and JJ quickly grabbing their pokéballs and running after him.

The origin of the alarm sounding off came from the main room, where a fire had erupted. Nurse Joy had already called the authorities, who were on their way by the time Niko had arrived.

"Nurse Joy! What happened?" he yelled over to the nurse as smoke billowed through the room.

"There was an explosion near the entrance of the door, and some men in black suits came in after. I don't know where they went though, I was more concerned about calling the authorities to tame this fire!"

"Squirtle! Use water gun!" suddenly a burst of water collided with the other end of the fire as it began to diminish. Out of the burnt entrance came a trio of squirtles and three police officers clad in navy.

"Oh thank god, Office Jenny is here!" Nurse Joy said, running over to the entrance, now blackened and simmering quietly. "Thank you for showing up, we cannot find the culprits of the attack."

"Don't worry, they couldn't have gotten far by now. I just had another unit go into Mt. Moon to further investigate," Office Jenny noted, stepping over pieces of broken glass from the door. "Let's focus on fixing this place up and making sure the trainers and their pokémon are safe," she said, walking over to the healing station to check for any damage. As she checked the machine, she noticed that there was a bent on the corner of it. Further examining it, she then saw the machine had a gaping hole in it. The perpetrators had not only broken the machine, but it also seemed to be missing some pokéballs.

The trainers were all gathered around the two women as they spoke for a couple minutes about procedural matters regarding the break-in. Niko, Fay, and JJ then rushed back to their room to get their backpacks.

"Are we going after them?" JJ asked, running behind Fay and Niko.

"Well, we're going to help out. We should go into Mt. Moon and figure this out," Fay responded, entering their room and leaping over his bed to grab his bag from the other side. Niko and JJ did the same, and the group was in and out of the room within moments. As they were preparing to leave, Fay explained their intentions to Nurse Joy and Officer Jenny.

"Oh no no no. I can't let you boys go do that. Even if you wanted to, you can't—Mt. Moon is closed off for now," Officer Jenny shook her head as she denied the group's help.

"But Officer Jen—" JJ began, but was elbowed in the side by Fay.

"No worries officer, is there any other way to get to Cerulean City?" Fay interrupted.

"Well, at the moment not really. We have officers all around the mountain range monitoring the situation. There has been a series of attacks on pokémon centers recently, and we think there might be a link between them and this one today. So, you boys might want to wait until we have caught them first."

"Alright, thanks for the update officer!" Fay said, motioning Niko and JJ to follow him. The two boys waved to the nurse and officer as they headed outside. "Let's go train for the next gym guys!"

As they exited the burnt entrance to the pokémon center, Fay smirked at his friends as he eyed towards the entrance to Mt. Moon. Niko immediately read his mind, but it took JJ a couple moments before he too realized what was going on. They ran off out of sight of the police and behind a large rock as they examined the entrance to the mountain. After about an hour or so of waiting through the early morning, they finally found their moment, and rushed past some unsuspecting officers before getting access to the mountain.

The inside of Mt. Moon was a collection of tunnels that led into large caverns in other mountains. The group had never visited the mountain before, but they had heard of rumors of rare pokémon that visit the top of the mountain to perform a dance under a full moon. As they walked through the tunnels, Fay told them to keep an eye out for any men in black clothes, in case they might get jumped.

After a bit, it started to get dark in the tunnel they were walking through. "Uhh…guys…" JJ commented, looking around frightened. "Can we get some light in here? I'm uh…a little scared of the dark…"

"Oh, no worries JJ. Charmander's got you," Fay said, throwing out his pokéball to release his fire type companion. "We need some light in here, can you help us?"

"Chaaar! Char!" the lizard pokémon responded happily, grabbing its tail and lighting the way with the flame on its tail.

For another half hour or so, the group continued down the same tunnel. Along the way, they noticed some pokémon watching them idly, with some deciding to attack the gang, to which charmander responded by throwing its tail in their face to scare them off. They eventually reached an open cavern, where they decided to sit down and eat lunch.

As they were eating, they noticed someone across the cave fiddling around with a machine. He looked to be around their age, had long black hair with some glasses and a little purple pokémon sitting beside him watching him work on this machine. JJ decided to get up and walk over to him. The boy looked up, frightened by JJ's voice, and fell backwards and onto his machine.

"Hey, my name's JJ, what're you up to?" he asked, sticking out his hand to the other trainer.

"Err…uhh…nothing…just fixing my fossil machine…" the trainer stammered. "My names...err…Ted…" he returned JJ's handshake, albeit nervously. It was clear that he didn't talk to people often.

"Pleased to meet you, Ted, would you like to join us for lunch?" Ted thought about this for a moment, and then nodded his head. "Great! My friend Fay just put together a fruit salad, it's great I promise!" JJ said, motioning over to his friends.

Ted sat down to meet Niko and Fay, and the three conversed for a bit. It happened that Ted was an inventor who was working on a fossil revitalization machine. It had just broken down as he and one of his pokémon, grimer, was testing it on a rare fossil shaped like a helix. He had nearly completed his machine when a man in black jumped him, took one of his pokémon, and kicked his machine, breaking it again.

"What did this guy look like?" Fay inquired. Ted scratched his head for a moment, "well, his clothes had a big red 'R' on them, but otherwise it was just a black jumpsuit. Didn't get a good look at him, I'll admit."

"Alright, no worries. Is there anything we can do to help you fix your machine?" Fay continued, "we only ask because there have been reports of these men in black suits running around terrorizing pokémon centers and stealing pokémon," Ted nodded, fixing his glasses for a moment before speaking again.

"Hmm…I see. Well, I can help you find them. I have seen them before, after all."

"Excellent! It's a deal!" Niko cheered, getting up and walking over to the machine, investigating it a little to see what the problem was. After a couple minutes, he couldn't figure out the problem, by which time Fay had walked over and taken control of the project. In school, Fay was known as the 'tech guru,' fixing everyone's computer problems. He was in his environment now, and was able to find the issue with the machine, albeit with Ted's occasional help with regards to its design.

"Alright Ted, I think we solved it. Do we have a fossil to test it out on?"

"Uhh…yeah, I think we do!" Ted said, looking around frantically for a fossil. He found the helix-shaped one that he was about to work on when JJ interrupted him. He picked up the fossil and handed it to Fay, who placed it in the large drive in the machine.

Suddenly the machine started vibrating and making a whirring sound. The fossil started to glow white and so did the machine itself.

Then it exploded.

The four boys and their pokémon were shot backwards due to the explosion that immediately produced a little blue pokémon with a beige helix-shaped shell. Ted looked up at it, adjusting his glasses so that he could get a better look.

"Guys…it…it worked…" He stuttered, getting up and examining the little pokémon. Niko pulled out his pokédex:

" _Omanyte, the spiral pokémon. An ancient pokémon that was recovered from a fossil. It swims by cleverly twisting its 10 tentacles about._ "

"Wow! An ancient pokémon! That's amazing!" Niko exclaimed, running over to join Ted. "You should totally catch it."

"I…I think I will," Ted said quietly, grabbing a pokéball from his pocket. He tapped the button of the ball on omanyte's shell, and the spiral pokémon went into the ball. After vibrating a few times, it finally clicked.

"I guess it really wanted to join you. After all, it makes sense—you're the only thing it's ever known. You revived it," JJ said, getting up and dusting off his dark blue jeans and his light gray hoodie.

"Yeah…heh. Now, I need to find my other pokémon that was stolen," Ted said, his face immediately changing from that of wonder to one of concern.

"Of course, Ted," Fay said, walking back to their little campsite to pack up before continuing their journey through the mountain.

After a while they heard a group of voices talking in a tunnel nearby. Ted noticed an opening on the left side of the tunnel up ahead, and ran up to the entrance to get a better listen.

"Once we have the clefairy, we should be good here," one of them noted.

"Yes indeed, and then the boss will finally accept us as members of Team Rocket," the other voice said, snickering a little.

"How much longer until the full moon?" the first voice asked.

"Only a couple hours. Say, let's get to the top before it's too late!" the second voice said, hurrying out of the room, not noticing Ted right on the other side of the wall as he rushed past. His companion followed, also not noticing the trainer as he ran through the tunnel.

After they had disappeared, Ted turned to the gang and motioned them forward as he ran after the two supposed member of Team Rocket. After a while, they had reached an uphill climb, to which JJ had to stop and started heaving.

"Guys…guys…" he said, panting. "Can…we stop…for a moment…" he said, collapsing onto the ground. Ted, Niko, and Fay looked at him, all three sighing loudly. They sat down for a couple minutes to catch their breath as they began the trek upwards to the top of the mountain. Ted and Fay went up through the tunnel first, followed by Niko and JJ a little later on. By the time they reached the top, the sun was starting to set, and Ted and Fay were already talking to the two members of the gang they called Team Rocket.

"Why are you stealing pokémon like mine?" Ted yelled at the two members, looking reasonably frustrated. The Team Rocket grunt smirked; his companion gave a cold stare to their opponents.

"It's our job—to steal rare pokémon and deliver them to our boss. I mean, what else would a gang do?"

"Ahem…we're an established organization, not just some _gang_." The cold-faced grunt stated matter-of-factly.

Both of the grunts then pulled out pokéballs and threw them into the air, releasing a purple snake pokémon and a large purple sphere that looked to be emitting a gas of some sort. They then commanded their pokémon to attack the boys, only to see a retaliation from pidgey and eevee, who both use sand attack to confuse Team Rocket. As the dust cleared up, Fay sent out charmander and ordered it to use an ember right for the snake as pidgey used gust to fan the flames further.

Ted then sent out his own pokémon, the one that JJ had seen earlier. "Grimer, come on out! Let's use double team! And follow up with pound!" the poison pokémon then created nearly a dozen copies of itself and then ran straight for the pokémon that Team Rocket called koffing. Since both were poison types, it wasn't like koffing could do much damage, especially to a dozen opponents at once. Or so they thought.

"Koffing, use self-destruct!" the grunt screamed out. As koffing was about to explode, the grimer copies covered the koffing as a buffer. The strategy was successful, as the real grimer had fallen back before the explosion. All of the copies were destroyed, and so was koffing. The grunt returned his pokémon as the other commanded their pokémon—this one called ekans—to use bind on charmander and poison sting towards pidgey. Pidgey dodged but then used a tackle in an attempt to unbind charmander, who was using an ember to weaken the poison sting. Ekans let go, pained by the barrage of attacks directed towards it.

"Give me back my pokémon!" Ted exclaimed, running towards the colder-looking grunt, fist clenched. He then connected it to the grunt's face, knocking him down; his glasses also falling to the ground in the process. The grunt stammered backwards, his nose bleeding. Pidgey then kicked more sand in ekans' face as charmander launched another ember attack at the snake pokémon's neck. Ekans fell backwards, also expressing defeat as it was returned to its pokéball by the other, more animated, grunt.

The two grunts, now seeming defeated, began to escape. The top of the Mt. Moon was a large, flattened area of space that was fenced off to protect tourists from falling off the side of the mountain, which was steep enough to be incredibly dangerous. At the end of the area was a gate that only "authorized personnel" were allowed, and that was where Team Rocket was heading. As they reached the gate, they suddenly fell backwards, as if they had collided with an invisible wall.

Well, in fact they did. They flew backwards and back onto the ground. Out of nowhere, a dozen or so little pink pokémon came walking from behind the grunts, circling around the two. Niko pulled out his pokédex:

" _Clefairy, the fairy pokémon. Its magical and cute appeal has many admirers. It is rare and found only in certain areas._ "

"So this must be the rare pokémon that everyone was talking about…" Niko said, a little surprised—and thankful—to see them now, of all times. The clefairy then wagged their hands left and right in a rhythmic fashion, eventually glowing. The fairy pokémon's eyes then glowed, and the grunts started floating up into the air, and then were dropped back down onto the ground. The attack repeated a few times, until the grunts had had enough.

"Okay okay stop it!" The animated grunt screamed out loud. "We'll return the pokémon. Just let us go!"

The grunts got up, throwing a pokéball onto the ground as they walked off, past the gate. Just as they were free, Officer Jenny ran past the group and apprehended the two grunts alongside two other officers.

"Well boys," Jenny said, turning around and looking at the three trainers she warned earlier. "I did tell you to not go into Mt. Moon, and I am sure I could punish you for this…"

"Officer, we're very sorry! We just wan—" Niko said until being interrupted by the officer.

"But I don't. Like I said, we've been pursuing members of Team Rocket for years, and especially since they've become active only recently, we are putting them on high priority until we find their new leader and they are brought to justice for terrorizing pokémon centers and stealing pokémon. You're all free to go."

Niko, Fay, and JJ all thanked Jenny, but then turned their attention to Ted, who was picking up his pokéball, grimer at his side. For a moment, his eyes seemed to shimmer a little. He shuffled his glasses a bit as he released his pokémon, and out came a little magnet-like creature. It ran up to Ted and embraced it, even emitting a little static shock that would have normally hurt a person, but the inventor wasn't fazed. The group walked up to him, Fay and JJ gripping his shoulders.

"Hey, guys…th-thanks…I really appreciated the help," Ted said, a tear running down his cheek. "I really missed magnemite. And I wouldn't have gotten it back without your help."

"No worries bud, that's what friends are for!" Niko said, coming in to embrace Ted and magnemite, the latter of which unexpectedly shocked the young trainer.

The four the turned as, under the moonlight, they saw the clefairy beginning to dance. "So…this is the rare attraction that everyone has talked about," Niko noted, looking in awe at the dancing fairy pokémon.

"Of course it is," Office Jenny said, "this is the Moondance. During every full moon, the clefairy atop Mt. Moon do a special dance to celebrate the occasion."

The boys looked at the Moondance in awe. Everything they had done that day led up to this moment was well worth it—they had made a new friend, got to meet new pokémon, and got to see a rare theatrical special from the clefairy.

* * *

"Hey guys, thanks again for helping out, but I have to head back home now," Ted said, packing up his things and preparing to leave the following day.

"No problem, Ted!" Niko said, "And safe travels. Where is home again for you?"

"Cinnabar Island actually. There's a fossil lab down there that my parents work at. Oh, and hey, there's a gym there, too!"

"Guess we'll be heading there soon enough!" Fay said, shaking Ted's hand, "And when we do, let's battle!"

"Of course, Fay. You got it," Ted responded with his own hand, returning the gesture. As the inventor left in the direction of Mt. Moon's entrance, the three boys sat back down in the cavern, taking a break from their journey to Cerulean City.

* * *

 **Author's note: When I first sat down to write this, I had no idea what I was going to write, so most of this was off-the-cuff. I hope you enjoyed it, and be sure to check out the next one, where the group reaches Cerulean City!**


	8. Episode 8: The Floral Lagoon City!

**Episode 8: The Floral Lagoon City**

Brock was right: it did take roughly a week to get to Cerulean City. It was much further than either of the boys had expected. Eventually, though, they finally reached the city. The first thing they noticed was the flowers that flooded their senses.

"Wow! Guys, check out these flowers!" JJ said, running up to a collection of blue and red flowers and picking some up.

"I didn't know you liked flowers so much, JJ," Niko said, looking down at his friend, who seemed to be having a field day, no pun intended.

"Yeah dude, my mom was a florist in Celadon City. I grew up around flowers all the time," JJ said, smelling the flowers and perking up a little. He was telling Niko and Fay earlier that he didn't sleep well the previous night, so it was good to see him more energetic than he had been.

The group then continued down the road and into Cerulean City. For JJ, it seemed to be a paradise—there were flowers everywhere. And it seemed that he wasn't the only one, since there didn't seem to be a sad face in sight. They headed for the pokémon center to heal up and grab some lunch before heading off to the gym. As their companions were resting up, the three boys grabbed out their pamphlet to learn more about the city's gym leader.

"So…it seems that Misty is a water type trainer. This'll be interesting…" JJ said, laying the open pamphlet out in front of Niko and Fay, who were sitting opposite him at a booth. His friends then glanced over at the information, Niko smiled a little; Fay put his head in his hands. "Yeah, looks like Niko has another advantage here, since grass types are strong against water pokémon. Fay…can't say the same about fire types," Fay groaned a little. "But hey, you have magikarp though!" Fay groaned even louder.

"Don't worry, Fay," Niko said, patting him on the back, "You did really well against Brock, and you were at a serious disadvantage!" Fay looked up at his friends and shrugged.

"Guess so. I know I sound disappointed, but it really isn't that bad. It'll make us stronger, win or lose, right?" Niko and JJ nodded, the latter putting the pamphlet away.

After an hour or so of talking potential strategies against Misty, the group picked up their pokémon and headed off to the gym, which was at the other end of the city. On their way, JJ noticed a flower shop and urged his friends to stop for a moment while he checked them out. Walking through the store, he seemed to understand more about flowers than either his friends had ever imagined, even striking up conversation with the owner about the different types of flowers, where they were collected, and the kinds of pokémon they have as assistants. As they were talking, Niko and Fay went to visit the next store over, a shop that sold rare collectibles.

The store had a variety of rare objects and knickknacks, all of which were supposedly designed to help pokémon out in some way, whether it was in battle, or evolving, or strengthening their bond with their trainer. Niko and Fay then noticed a collection of what looked like gym badges. The only one they recognized was the one they had already earned—the boulder badge. The one next to it looked like the one Misty gave out—it was a blue drop of water.

"That right there is the cascade badge fellas," an old, heavily mustached man said, peering at the two trainers from the other side of the glass case holding the badges. "You interested in buying it?"

"No, sir, we plan on earning it instead," Fay responded. The old man stared him down for a moment before smiling, his orange mustache flapping a little as his mouth moved up and down.

"Haha! Well then, you're in for quite a battle then. Misty's a feisty one!" he winked at Fay.

"Do you know Misty?" Niko wondered.

"Know her? I was her first ever challenger! She became a new gym leader a couple decades back, after she became a trainer and inherited the gym from her older sisters," the man stood straight up proudly. "Man…that was such a long time ago. Been years since I challenged the pokémon league."

"You challenged the pokémon league?" Niko repeated, far more interested now.

"Oh indeed!" the man howled. "I even won it back in my day," Fay and Niko's jaws dropped. "Say, you boys plan on doing the same?" they nodded, jaws still on the floor. "Well, a word of advice then: treat your pokémon well. I've seen plenty of trainers that only think winning is everything and don't give any thought to what their pokémon think. All it does it weakens their relationship because they see their pokémon as a tool, not a friend."

"Wow…thank you," Niko said, looking back at the badges, wondering if he was doing enough to build a relationship with his pokémon. "Say, do you have any advice for battling Misty?"

The man rubbed his chin for a moment before replying. "Speed. Speed is everything against her."

"…speed?" Niko asked, confused by what he meant.

"Yes, speed. Each gym leader is supposed to teach you something, whether it's a skill, or a way to bond further with your pokémon, or how you can improve battling. What did Brock teach you?" Niko and Fay thought for a moment before answering.

"Well, I did learn a new strategy for my bulbasaur to use. It might not have been the smartest move, but it did work," Niko answered. "I basically used vine whip to build momentum and then grabbed onto onix's head to gain control of the situation," the man looked impressed.

"My charmander was able to use the dodging techniques that I trained it to learn, so that's something?" Fay also responded.

The man continued speaking. "Well, it seems you both are on your way. Learning how to strategize on the spot, as well as planning beforehand, are both useful skills for any great trainer. I can tell you that I didn't learn those skills immediately—they take plenty of practice," he winked again. "If you keep it up and continue to learn new things about yourselves and your pokémon, I'm sure you'll both become champions one day, too!"

"Well, thanks again sir!"

"Ah, don't worry about it guys. And call me Richie," as the shop owner said this, they heard a scream on the other side of the shop and a puff of smoke erupt into the air. "What's going on!?" the redheaded shop owner demanded, running over to the origin of the scream.

"These criminals came in and stole from the shop! They're heading that way!" the woman who screamed said, pointing to the entrance of the shop. In a motion that seemed unbefitting to a man of his size, Richie leapt over the glass case and ran out of the shop, frantically looking around to see where the criminals went. Fay and Niko were right behind him, and noticed a familiar black suit running into a nearby house.

The three ran down the street to the house, joined by JJ a moment later. As they entered the house, they noticed it seemed to have been abandoned for some time. Windows were broken, furniture was overturned, and pictures, lamps, and potted plants littered the floor. In short, the house was destroyed. As they walked through the house, there didn't seem to be any indication that someone had recently passed through.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, a pokéball landed in front of them, containing a yellow and black pokémon. It looked like an anteater, but on two legs. Niko pulled out his pokédex:

" _Drowzee, the sleep pokémon. Puts enemies to sleep then eats their dreams. Occasionally gets sick from eating bad dreams._ "

"Pidgey, I choose you! Use gust!" Niko said, unleashing his bird pokémon who then flapped its wings powerfully to create a rush of air aimed at the sleep pokémon.

"Charmander, use ember!" Fay commanded, his fire type launched small flames at its opponent's feet.

A figure then walked out from what looked like the kitchen, revealing a black suit with a red "R" emblazoned on his shirt. He then quietly ordered a command from drowzee.

"Hypnosis."

The sleep pokemon's eyes began to glow as it stared down charmander and pidgey, putting both of them to sleep in an instant. The trainers took a little longer to put to sleep, but they also fell to the ground as well.

Except JJ, who had closed his eyes in anticipation of the attack. The Team Rocket grunt, now seeming surprised, commanded drowzee to use it again. JJ was quicker, though.

"Kakuna come out! Use string shot, and aim for drowzee's eyes!" the cocoon pokémon popped out of the pokéball and blinded the sleep pokémon.

"Drowzee, it's to your left, use pound!" the grunt said, and his pokémon stumbled in the direction of kakuna, missing its attack as it took a tackle to the side. Drowzee collided into the wall, causing a painting to fall onto its head.

"Great job Kakuna! Use tackle again!"

Drowzee took another tackle, this time to the face. However, as kakuna was withdrawing after the tackle, it accidentally ripped part of the string from its opponent's face. Drowzee, noticing what was happening, then gripped the rest of the string and pulled it off, now able to see again.

"Ha! Hahaha! Now's our chance, drowzee! Use hypnosis!"

"Drow…zee…drow…zee…" the sleep pokémon said slowly.

"Kakuna you can't let it get to you! Close your eyes and try to ignore the noise!" JJ yelled out desperately. His efforts seemed to fail, however, and kakuna fell asleep. Drowzee then proceeded to pound kakuna repeatedly, eventually knocking the cocoon pokémon into a turned-over couch. JJ ran over to his pokémon, picking it up and shaking it in an attempt to wake it up. He succeeded, and as kakuna woke up it started to glow in JJ's arms. And got bigger. Much, much bigger.

"Bee!" the evolved kakuna said, flapping its newfound wings and hovered in the air. JJ grabbed his pokédex:

" _Beedrill, the poison bee pokémon. Flies at high speed and attacks using its large venomous stingers on its forelegs and tail._ "

"Beedrill! Use…uh…" JJ thought for a moment. He used to know a beedrill once as a kid. His mom owned one to help guard her flower gardens. He then remembered the move she always had it use. "Pin missile!"

The bee pokémon then pointed its stingers right at drowzee and shot two pointed stingers at the sleep pokémon. The attacks hit, knocking drowzee backwards as beedrill followed up with a poison sting, colliding its right stinger with drowzee's stomach. The grunt ran up, now furious, and returned drowzee to its pokéball. By now, Niko, Fay, and Richie were waking up, along with their pokémon. They all turned to the grunt, who was now frightened as he realized his defeat. Richie stepped forward, clutching a pokéball in his palm.

"Sparky, let's go!" the shop owner yelled, sending out a yellow mouse known as pikachu. "Use thunderbolt on the grunt!"

"Piiika…chuuu!" the yellow mouse unleashed a bolt of electricity in the direction of the grunt, who was now running away. The attack collided, and the grunt collapsed to the ground. Richie walked over, picking up the stone from the pocket of the grunt. He turned around, showing the stone to the rest of the group, and smirked.

"Still got it."

"Wow Richie! That was awesome, and JJ, did kakuna evolve?" Niko said, looking over at beedrill. JJ nodded, stroking beedrill's stinger as the poison bee pokémon hummed a little.

* * *

The group headed back to Richie's shop, where the owner returned the stone to its rightful place and continued with his work. He recommended that the boys go check to see if the gym is open before they challenged it. After a little while, the group reached the gym which was, indeed, locked. The sign read: "Closed for maintenance. Open next week."

Niko looked over at Fay. "Guess we have to wait a few more days," he said shrugging.

"Yeah, guess we do. I want to train with charmander and mankey a bit anyways."

"Well, we're in luck!" JJ said, showing them the pamphlet again. "There's a bridge north of the city that holds a series of battles. We could go there and check it out. Plus, it'll give you guys an opportunity to train some more before Misty."

Niko and Fay took a quick look at the pamphlet. "Nugget bridge, eh? Sounds like fun! Let's go, Fay!" Niko slapped his friend on the shoulder as they decided on their next course of action, wind behind their backs as they continued on their journey.

* * *

 **Author's Note: Like the last episode, I largely wrote this off the cuff. Essentially, I plan out the episodes based on places in the games, and then come up with how the episode will go when I get to it. So when I got to Mt. Moon and Cerulean City, I didn't know what to include, so I just wrote for a couple hours while watching "How I Met Your Mother" and this is the result. So with that said...I hope you're enjoying it so far!**


	9. Episode 9: The disappearing abra!

**Episode 9: The disappearing abra!**

At the suggestion of JJ and their pamphlet, the group decided to check out Nugget Bridge, which they noticed held a series of battles for trainers who decided to visit while waiting for the Cerulean City gym leader, Misty, to return. After healing their pokémon, they walked north of the town to a yellow bridge overlooking a rather large river. As they were walking up to it, Niko suddenly tripped forward, landing in the dirt and kicking up a puff of dust. Swearing under his breath, he looked to his left and right, trying to see what tripped him. At first, he noticed nothing. On his second look, he noticed a little golden brown creature hovering there, right to his left. Its eyes seemed closed, and its legs were crossed.

As Niko got back up, he took another glance over to the creature when it was suddenly gone. "What the hell was that?" Niko said, glancing around again to make sure he wasn't losing his mind.

"What was what?" JJ said, convinced that Niko had lost his mind.

"That creature…that…pokémon? I'm not sure exactly," Niko responded, scratching the back of his head full of brown hair, trying to understand what had happened. After a minute or so, Fay decided to pipe in.

"Might have teleported away. That's something that certain pokémon have the ability to do. Could have played a trick on you."

"Hey! Are you planning on battling on Nugget Bridge?" A young boy exclaimed, running up to the group. Niko and Fay nodded. "Oh great! Well, let's battle then!"

"Sure thing, but how does this whole Nugget Bridge challenge thing work?" Niko wondered. The boy's face lit up, as if he was an expert on how this worked. Jumping up and down, he began to explain how it worked.

"There are a series of five battles, and if you make it to the end you get a golden nugget, which can be sold for lots of money!" the boy stated. "Now, let's battle!" Fay stepped backwards a bit, pulling out a pokéball. The boy, more practically vibrating from excitement, threw a pokéball of his own into the air, sending out a rattata to counter Fay's charmander. "Alright Ratty, use tackle on charmander!"

"Charmander, dodge just like we practiced, and then use scratch!" the lizard pokémon quickly stepped out of the way, spinning around, and backslapping the rat pokémon with its claws. "Then use ember!" charmander then spun around a second time, this time whipping its tail at Ratty, who yelped as the flames collided with its fur. Rattata then proceeded to frantically roll around in the dirt, trying to put out the flames. In the meantime, charmander tackled his opponent, sending it rolling back to its trainer.

"Ratty c'mon! Get up!" the boy said, clearly upset that he was losing. Fay then ordered another ember, putting the rat pokémon down again. Returning his pokémon, Fay walked up to the young trainer.

"Good job kid, I can see that you want to get better, right?" the boy, now crying a little, sniffled and nodded his head. "Well, you might not believe it, but so am I! Me and charmander want to be the best we can be, and so we practice every day and make the most of our training. I think if you keep it up, you'll do great, too!" Fay put out his hand, and the boy returned the handshake.

"Alright…*sniff*…you're right, I'll keep practicing, and one day I'll beat you!" he said, running off towards the pokémon center. Fay turned around, smiling. He then looked over at Niko, who was already embroiled in a battle of his own, and JJ, who was spectating.

"Pidgey let's go! Use gust!"

"Use string shot, caterpie!" Niko's opponent, an older looking trainer, instructed. The bug type unleashed a barrage of string, but pidgey blew it back, covering caterpie in string. Pidgey then followed up with a tackle, nailing its opponent with the side of its wing and knocking the bug backwards. The older boy returned caterpie, responding by sending out a bird of its own. "Alright spearow, use peck!"

"Dodge, and use gust again!" Niko commanded, and pidgey obeyed, getting out of the way before attacking spearow with a strong gust of wind. Spearow, who clearly seemed to be an adept flyer, navigated through the wind to then use peck. The attack landed, and both birds fell to the ground. "Sand attack!" Niko's pokémon then kicked up dust, blinding spearow. This was pidgey's opening. The tiny bird pokémon then flew forward, low to the ground, and tackle spearow, again both bird rolling through the ground. Pidgey then got up; spearow didn't.

The older trainer returned his trainer. "Wow, your pidgey is really good! Hopefully spearow can be as good one day," he then shook Niko's hand, who returned the compliment. Niko then turned to Fay, who had gotten to see the second half of the battle.

"So…we just keep battling?" Fay said, glancing down the bridge. There were dozens of trainers battling each other, with dozens more pokémon that they've never seen before battling it out on the yellow bridge.

"Looks like it. But hey, it'll be some good training for us!" Niko said, pidgey landing on his arm, puffing out its chest after its double victory.

For the next couple hours Fay and Niko went to trainer after trainer, battling close to a dozen pokémon altogether. By the time the sun was setting, their pokémon were exhausted. The trio then went to a nearby hill on the other side of the bridge to rest and have a meal. Sitting down, Niko noticed that pidgey was fidgeting a little, as if it wanted to continue battling. So, it got up and flew around to burn off any energy it still had left.

"Pidgey sure is energetic, Niko," Fay noticed as pidgey landed to start eating its dinner.

"I know right? I love it! It's great to have a pokémon so energetic and eager to battle," Niko responded, looking at his new pokémon with pride. He looked at bulbasaur as well, rubbing his bulb as well. "I can't wait to see how far we go, as a team."

As Niko said that, he saw something flicker in front of him, pidgey's pokéball suddenly missing from his belt, where he kept them attached. Then the pokéball showed up a dozen feet away, under a nearby tree. Niko got up and walked over to the tree to grab his pokéball. As he bent down to grab it, it disappeared again with a yellow and brown flicker. Now agitated a little, Niko looked around for his pokéball. He found it even further away, now at the top of a nearby hill. Running over, he tried to catch the pokéball again, but as he leapt forward to grab it, he collided with something as the two hit each other and proceeded to roll down the far side of the hill.

Niko looked up, realizing that he had crashed into the same creature that tripped him earlier. As it was about to disappear again, Niko held up his hand while standing back up. "Wait a second…you're the pokémon from earlier!" the creature nodded sagely, its eyes still seemingly closed. He pulled out his pokédex:

" _Abra, the psi pokémon. Using its ability to read minds, it will identify impending danger and teleport immediately._ "

"So that's why you were messing with me…you're just teleporting around…" Niko said, pocketing his pokédex again. "Why are you teasing me? What did I do?" pidgey's pokéball then hovered into the air, as if trying to tell Niko that it wanted to fight. "Do you want to…fight?" Niko asked. Abra nodded, throwing the pokéball into his hands. Niko looked back at his pidgey, who seemed to be busy eating. "Hey pidgey! Come over here!" he beckoned as his bird companion flew out to meet its trainer eagerly. "This abra here wants to battle, you up for it?" pidgey nodded eagerly, eying its new opponent with determination. "Let's see what this pokémon is all about! Use gust!"

Pidgey began flapping its wings in earnest, but it's went to naught as abra teleported away and reappeared behind pidgey, kicking it in the back. The tiny bird, realizing what had happened, decided to tackle the psi pokémon in retaliation. This attack also missed, with abra appearing above pidgey and karate chopping it into the grass below. Niko, now impressed in abra's fighting style, tried to understand possible loopholes in the teleporting strategy. Not finding one, with pidgey exhausted from trying to attack with brute force. Niko commanded his pokémon to stop attacking. Pidgey stopped, and so did abra. For a couple moments, both of the pokémon stared each other down.

"Pidgey, sand attack!" Niko commanded, and the bird kicked up some dirt and grass in the direction of abra, who got caught off guard and had difficulty seeing where it was going. Pidgey then tackled abra, and the two fell down the hill. Niko ran over to see the two pokémon, both looking tired from the fight. Niko then grabbed a spare pokéball and tossed it down at abra. The pokémon, who was sitting underneath pidgey, glowed a bright red color and went into the pokéball above it. It fell onto the ground, wiggled around a few times, and finally clicked, suggesting that abra had been caught.

Niko picked up the pokéball containing abra, and looked back down at pidgey. "Thanks buddy, we just got a new member for our team!" pidgey cheered, flapping its wings excitedly. The two walked back over to Fay and JJ, who were sitting by watching the whole event unfold while eating dinner. As their friend approached alongside pidgey, they began to clap in celebration of his new pokémon.

"So abra eh?" JJ said, holding a thumbs up. "I've heard those are rare pokémon. Plus, psychic types are generally pretty strong, so nice job!"

"Thanks dude, it's a spunky pokémon, but I think it'll be a great addition," Niko commented, releasing his new pokémon to join his other friends.

* * *

The next day, the group decided to continue down the path past Nugget Bridge. Having battled nearly every trainer on the bridge, they figured there wouldn't be anyone left to battle, and so continued on down the path near the bridge. JJ had mentioned that they were near the eastern coast of Kanto, which supposedly produced a wonderful view. So they decided to go check it out while they still had a couple days left until the gym in Cerulean City reopened.

Walking down the road, they heard a kid arguing with someone that sounded much older than they were. Running over to see what was happening, the group saw a little kid battling someone significantly older than him.

"Mankey, use low kick!" the kid screamed, upset that he was fighting a member of Team Rocket. "You can't take my pokémon from me! I won't let you!"

"You're just a little kid, you can't beat an experienced trainer like me! Raticate use hyper fang!" the giant rat pokémon burst forward, fangs glowing as it collided with mankey's foot. Raticate, however, was far more powerful than its opponent, and gripped mankey with its teeth and swung it back over to the kid. As he was about to get on his knees to comfort mankey, he saw raticate coming straight for him. As was about to attack the kid, a flame burst forward, enveloping the giant rat. As the pokémon fell to the ground, a red and orange fox-like pokémon stood a few yards away, and behind him another person.


	10. Episode 10: The Storage System Inventor!

**Episode 10: The Storage System Inventor!**

"Flareon, use flamethrower!" the third trainer commanded, and the fire pokémon unleashed a stream of fire from its maw and covered raticate in it. The grunt turned over to the trainer, mouth wide open in shock. Returning raticate to its pokéball, he turned to run away when another pokémon blocked him. This time, it was a fox-like creature with yellow fur. "Jolteon use thunderbolt!"

The grunt fell backwards, clearly surrendering when he wasn't able to get back up. The trainer, who the group noticed wore thick glasses and a dress shirt, walked over with his flareon. As he got down to grab a pokéball from the grunt's belt, Officer Jenny came rushing to the site alongside another pokémon, this time bright blue with a webbed tail at the end of its body. The officer got down and handcuffed the grunt from behind, and dragged him up on to his feet before leading him back onto the road.

"Are you alright kid?" the bespectacled man said, walking up to the teary-eyed trainer and patted his shoulder. The kid looked up, sniffling a little but smiling all the same.

"Y-yeah sir, I'm doing fine. I just need to get stronger with my mankey, and then we'll make sure that man doesn't take any more pokémon!" the kid pumped his fist a little in excitement.

"Hey kid!" JJ said, looking at the kid, "wanna have a battle? Let's see how good you are!"

"JJ, his pokémon just got its ass kicked…" Fay said, frowning a little at the lack of consideration.

"Hey, no worries guys! I have some medicine here. We can heal mankey up in a jiffy!" the older man said, getting onto his knees and pulling out a bottle from his messenger bag. "Now, may I see mankey for a moment?" the kid released mankey again. "By the way, name's Bill. Figured I should introduce myself at least," Bill said, smiling as he poured some of the medicine on a wash cloth and then applying it to the part of mankey's leg bitten on by the raticate. "This should take a few minutes to heal, but then mankey should be good to go!" Bill got up and looked at the other trainers watching him. "Say, what're you guys up to?"

"Well," Niko started, "we're just travelling to the coast. My name is Niko, and this is Fay, and JJ, and we're just killing time until the Cerulean City gym opens up again."

"Oh!" Bill looked surprised, "what a coincidence! I live right along the coast. You can all stop by if you've got the time."

The boys looked at each other for a moment, and then nodded in agreement. Bill smiled, and looked back down at mankey, who was finally getting up.

"How're you feeling buddy?" Bill said, getting down again to pet the pig monkey pokémon. Mankey chittered happily, running around a little bit to demonstrate its energy. "Well, looks like you can battle now, kiddo!"

"Heck yeah! Let's go big guy!" the kid said, pointing his finger at JJ.

"You got it!" JJ said, running a few paces backwards and throwing out a pokéball. "Beedrill! Let's go! Use poison sting on mankey!"

"Wait for it, mankey…" the kid said, and as beedrill got closer, mankey then leapt into the air above the poison bee pokémon. "Now use low kick!" the kid yelled, and mankey slammed it foot onto beedrill's head, the two then collapsing onto the ground. Mankey jumped off, and then rushed forward and punched beedrill in the face. As mankey was within close range, beedrill's stingers started glowing and it slapped mankey with the side of it to knock it off. Beedrill then flew backwards and swooped down onto mankey, its stinger colliding with mankey and the pig monkey shooting backwards into a tree trunk. Mankey fell down and, struggling to get back up, ended up fainting instead.

The kid walked over to mankey and caressed it for a moment while JJ and beedrill approached them. JJ reached out his hand.

"Hey kid, you did a great job. You had me and Beedrill worried for a moment…heh…" JJ laughed, scratching his head a little. The kid wasn't crying this time. Instead, he seemed more determined this time, albeit determined to get stronger. He returned the handshake.

"For sure! And next time we meet, I want to battle you and beedrill again!"

"You can uh count on that, for sure!" JJ replied, also smiling. The kid then got up with his mankey and began to walk off down the road, presumably to Cerulean City to rest after the battle. As he disappeared out of sight, Bill turned to the group.

"So, would you all care to join me at my home? I have some things that you all might be interested in," he said, motioning in the opposite direction of the kid.

"Uhh, sure, why not!" Niko exclaimed, looking eagerly at his friends and Bill, "it should be fun! And we'd get to see the beach!"

The group then headed off towards the coast. As they were walking, they learned that Bill was also an inventor. His famous creation was the pokémon computer storage system that trainers use. As they all knew, trainers could only carry six pokémon at a time, and so this system allows them to train more pokémon and rotate them out for battles, such as league matches.

"So if you really want to catch all of the pokémon, then this system is definitely for you!" Bill exclaimed, looking over at the three young trainers, all surprised by the genius of this inventor. "Oh, by the way, I should introduce you to my pokémon. This is Flareon, Jolteon, and Vaporeon," the three pokémon looked behind them at JJ, Fay, and Niko, and all cooed quietly, communicating their greetings. "They're all different evolutions from eevee. Did you know that eevee can evolve into almost a dozen different forms?" JJ looked at him curiously.

"Really? A dozen?" Bill nodded. "Well, I have an eevee actually. What kind of evolution is recommended?"

The inventor shook his head. "There isn't any 'recommended' evolution, JJ. Whatever evolutions works best for you and eevee is the right one. I evolved all three of these by using evolution stones. There are other ways to, as well, such as bonding incredibly well with your eevee. In faraway regions, eevee reacts to a specific type of rock that allows it to evolve into other forms. It's really an incredible pokémon, I would say."

" _I wonder what evolution would be best for my eevee…"_ JJ thought to himself. He hadn't given it much thought, for one thing since he didn't know his pokémon could evolve into so many different forms. Oddly enough, it was a pretty stressful thing to consider, especially at this point in his journey.

They made it to the coast around midday. The boys hadn't seen the sea in ages. Pallet Town was on the southern coast, but they didn't go to the beach as often as one might think. This was partly due to their close proximity to the ocean; since they could see it whenever they wanted to, if wasn't as much of a luxury as it seemed to be at this moment.

Standing atop a cliff along the coastline, Bill pointed over to a rather large house nearby. "That's where I live. C'mon, I'll show ya around."

As they got closer, the group noticed that Bill didn't just have three pokémon. No…he had _dozens_ , all of varying types and species. It was a ranch-style home where the pokémon all lived outside in vast fenced off areas and a larger wooden structure for them to use as shelter. One would think that this coastline would have more human inhabitants.

"People don't usually come to live here due to how often it rains here. There is also the occasional storm, and when they hit, they can be very nasty," Bill noted as he was pointing to the pokémon shelters.

"Are those…strong enough?" Fay inquired.

"Well, not really. I actually need to reinforce them. The pokémon like to help out with that; it's a nice bonding activity for all of us," Bill smiled, petting Jolteon, "I'm never really lonely. They all keep me company, and if I ever need human interaction I'll drive back down to Cerulean City or fly to another city or region to do research or help implement new inventions. When I first created the storage system, I had to travel all around the world to set it up in each city. Luckily, I had some help. Like Celio on the Sevii Islands, or Lanette in Hoenn."

"Sounds like a nice job, Bill," JJ said, petting a butterfree that was sitting on the fence next to him.

"It's a lot of hard work, but that's what I love about it. You know it's your dream when you have to spend days on end trying to work at it. And when the going gets rough, you don't just give up. You keep going, because you love what you do. You have a passion. Mine is research—trying to understand this world to the best of my ability, and using that knowledge to make life better and more fulfilling for those around me. That's the inspiration behind the storage system, actually," Bill said, winking at the end.

"Did you want to do all of this when you were our age?" Fay wondered.

"Well, actually, yeah. I invented the storage system when I was your age."

"What made you want to do research, besides understand this world?" Niko asked. "I mean, what was the catalyst for your passion for studying?"

"Oh, hmm…" Bill rubbed his chin, deep in thought. "I guess I'd have to say it was a teacher I had when I was younger. I didn't grow up in a rich family; it was more modest than you might imagine. No one in my family did any sort of scientific job for a living. So when I was going to school here—I'm originally from the Johto region—I had a teacher that really sparked my interest in computer science, and it all kind of just snowballed from there, I guess."

"Interesting…" Fay said, now also deep in thought.

After looking around outside, Bill brought the group into his home. It was far more incredible and impressive on the inside as compared to outside. There were machines upon machines, all hooked up to each other. As they walked from room to room, they noticed more of the same: sometimes rooms full of arcane machines, other full of servers. For any tech nerd, it was truly a sight to see. Eventually, they got to one room in the very back of the house. As they were about to enter, Bill stopped them.

"So years ago I tried a…unique experiment, to say the least. I tried to become a pokémon myself," the group's jaws dropped. "Yeah, I get that reaction a lot. It ended up not working out as planned, and a very kind trainer ended up finding me here and helping me out a little bit. Years later, it definitely seems like they solved the problem!" he chuckled, "or maybe not. Sometimes it's hard to tell!

"Anyways, I'm about to show you the machine that I used. Hopefully you find it as neat as I did," Bill remarked as he opened up the door. Inside were two machines hooked up to each other, and then hooked up to a rather large desktop computer to the side of the room. The group walked in and explored the technology for a couple minutes. As they were doing so, JJ must have touched something on accident and ended up opening the capsule. He walked in.

"JJ what the hell are you doing?" Fay yelled, scolding his friend, "what if it still works?"

"It doesn't, actually," Bill said, "Since my last attempt at turning into a pokémon, I haven't used this machine."

As Bill was talking, his flareon jumped onto the desk where the computer lay and pressed a button, turning on the computer. Once it was on, the pokémon pressed another button, closing JJ in the machine and turning it on in the process.

"Oh no…" Bill said softly. "Uhh…I guess…it works?"

"JJ! WHAT THE HELL MAN!" Fay screamed at his friend, who was banging on the glass window of the machine before being teleported.

"Bill! Bill what's happening to him?" Niko yelled out to the inventor.

"Well…he's going through that big cable on the ground. If the machine works, then he'll appear on the other side."

"And if he doesn't…?" Fay said, growling.

"He's stuck."

"Excellent," Niko muttered.

Luckily, however, JJ wasn't stuck. What came out on the other side of the machine was indeed JJ…but it certainly wasn't human. It was an eevee. JJ turned into one of his own pokémon. Bill then ran over to the desktop, picked flareon up and set it back on the ground, and started trying to reverse the machine. After a couple of minutes, the machine JJ was in started to glow, and he once again disappeared, only to reappear in the first machine a moment later as a human. Walking out, JJ gripped his head in pain.

"How do you feel buddy?" Fay asked, now less angry and more concerned.

"Well, I have a massive headache now. But otherwise I feel fine."

"Don't ever freaking do that again, you understand?" Fay said, now getting over his concern, "What if you got stuck in that cable, or you died?"

"I know I know, it was more of an accident than anything. Won't happen again."

"Good," Fay said, turning back to Bill, "what happened there?"

"Oh, it was flareon actually. It must have hit one of the computer keys that turns the machine on by accident. Everything is good now, and glad it worked out for you, JJ! How did it feel?"

"It felt…weird. Like, I could think and remember everything I've ever done, but couldn't speak English."

"Makes sense, you're a pokémon, and they don't speak our language," Niko piped in, glad that his friend was safe.

"Interesting…anyways, what a day!" Bill exclaimed, "First that skirmish with Team Rocket, and now this! I don't usually see this much excitement, much less in a single day," The inventor then motioned his new friends back out of the room, "C'mon, I'll make you boys some food. You can hang out here until tomorrow, unless you have other plans."

"Wow, that would be wonderful, Bill. I think the gym will open back up tomorrow anyways, so it works out just fine with us!" The inventor smiled, and the four went back to make lunch and enjoy the rest of the day.

The following day, Bill offered to drive the group back to Cerulean City after healing up Fay and Niko's pokémon first. When they got back to the city, the two would finally get a chance to challenge Misty for their second gym badge.


	11. Episode 11: Cascading into victory!

**Episode 11: Cascading to victory!**

The group arrived back in Cerulean City around midday and headed straight for the gym. This time, it was open, and Fay and Niko were both eager to start their battles. The inside of the gym was a giant pool with some concrete boards sticking out at both ends. As they closed the door, Bill behind them (as he also wanted to see the gym match), the lights in the gym turned on in the back of the room, revealing a woman with bright orange hair posing on the other end in a bathing suit and a robe resting on the woman's shoulders. She then pointed her finger at the group.

"You!" She yelled, "Are you here to challenge the Cerulean City gym?" JJ and Bill then walked over to the stands to the right and took a seat.

"Well, we both want to, actually," Fay yelled back. "Are you Misty?"

"Indeed I am!" Misty giggled, "Two challengers, alright? Fine by me, who would like to battle first?" Fay stepped forward, indicating that he was ready to fight. "Excellent, what is your name, young man?"

"My name is Fay from Pallet Town."

"Alright, Fay, this is a two on two pokémon battle. Are you ready?" Fay nodded. "Great! Go, staryu!" Misty yelled, throwing out a pokéball and unleashing a brown and yellow star-shaped pokémon. Niko, now in the stands, pulled out his pokédex:

" _Staryu, the star-shaped pokémon. As long as the center section is unharmed, it can grow back fully even if it is chopped to bits._ "

"Alright, let's go mankey!" Fay said, letting out his pig monkey. "Let's start off with low kick, aimed at its center!"

"Mank…mankeyyyyy!" Fay's pokémon said, leaping off of the concrete board and sticking its foot out at staryu. The latter retaliated with a burst of water, knocking mankey into the pool. It then dove in and tackled mankey, pushing it further down into the water.

Fay, now concerned, grabbed his pokéball and returned mankey. As a challenger, he is able to substitute pokémon and fully took advantage of this when he didn't know how to get mankey out of the situation underwater. He thought carefully about his next choice—all he had were charmander and magikarp. Charmander was his stronger pokémon, but it is at a massive disadvantage against water types. Magikarp, on the other hand, was definitely a weaker pokémon but was a water type, and wouldn't have much trouble defending against water type attacks. After a moment, he made his choice.

"Magikarp, I choose you!" Fay commanded, sending out his red fish. This time, it seemed to be more comfortable in the water, and wasn't flopping around aimlessly. Fay ordered it to use tackle, and magikarp shot through the water like a torpedo at an unsuspecting staryu, who barely dodged the attack and then returned with a tackle to magikarp's side, sending it into the right side of the pool.

"Staryu, use rapid spin!" Misty directed, and her star pokémon spun through the air towards magikarp. As it was about to collide with the fish, the latter dropped into the water and left staryu to crash into the poolside.

"Magikarp use…tackle!" Fay said, and his pokémon then rushed at staryu who retaliated with a rapid spin. "Turn left and dodge it!" magikarp moved out of the way and staryu stopped in the water. "Now tackle again!" this time, magikarp turned around and collided with staryu, now actually hitting it. "Good job magikarp! Let's keep it up! Use tackle again!"

"Not so fast, Fay. Staryu, use swift!"

"Dodge, and use tackle again!" as magikarp was about to tackle, staryu spun around in the air and shot out glowing white stars in its opponent's direction. Magikarp dove into the water as the attack hit the surface of the pool. A second later, magikarp then swam under staryu and leapt out the water, tackling staryu's red centerpiece. Both pokémon fell back into the water. Fay then directed magikarp to tackle once more, again at the red centerpiece. Misty's staryu countered with a water gun in the pool, causing the star pokémon to shoot backwards, as well as halting magikarp's progress. Staryu then leapt out of the water and back onto the concrete board in front of Misty.

"Use swift!" she ordered. Staryu then projected glowing stars at magikarp, who skillfully dodged each one before also jumping out of the water and slapping staryu with its tail, knocking it backwards and onto the ground.

"Staryu is unable to battle, magikarp is the winner! Misty may now use her second pokémon," the judge said, holding up a flag in Fay's direction.

"Alright kid, I see how you want to play. Go! Starmie!" the gym leader yelled, throwing a second pokéball high into the air. Out of it came another star, only this time it was purple and, unlike the five-pointed staryu, was ten points. Niko pulled out his pokédex:

" _Starmie, the mysterious pokémon. The center section is named the core. People think it is communicating when it glows in 7 colors."_

"Starmie, eh?" Fay mumbled. "Alright magikarp, let's keep this up! Use tackle!"

"Dodge it and use bubblebeam!" as magikarp got closer, Starmie leapt into the air and launched a torrent of bubbles at the fish. Since magikarp was already underwater, all the attack did was push the fish backwards. "Now, use swift!"

"Dodge it magikarp!" Fay's pokémon moved quickly out of the way as starmie shot stars at the surface of the pool. "Now swim around in circles, let's try a new strategy."

"Karp karp!" the fish pokémon muttered as it dove back underwater and started swimming in circles. Eventually, it was moving fast enough that a whirlpool formed. Fay then commanded his pokémon to use tackle, taking advantage of the momentum to launch itself into the air at starmie.

However, the mysterious pokémon anticipated and attack, and moved out of the way just as magikarp got close to it. Fay's pokémon then slammed into the ceiling, only to fall back into the water, having fainted moments before.

"Magikarp is unable to battle, starmie wins! Fay will now send out his second pokémon."

"Alright, let's finish this, go mankey!" the challenger said, throwing out the pig monkey's pokéball. "Use karate chop!" Fay said, as mankey leapt into the air, right at starmie.

"Not this again. Starmie, use psybeam!"

"Uh oh…" Bill muttered, "This isn't good for Fay…" Niko and JJ turned to him.

"Why not?" JJ asked.

"As a fighting type, mankey is weak to psychic type moves. Starmie is, in fact, a psychic type."

The three then watched as starmie launched a beam of psychic energy. However, mankey was able to fight through the attack, albeit with incredible difficulty, and slam its hand right on starmie's centerpiece. Both pokémon fell into the water after taking a severe amount of damage. With the match even, both Fay and Misty had to come up with a way to overcome the other's pokémon.

"You're good, Fay, I'll give you that," Misty said across the pool. "But this is game-set-match. Starmie, use psybeam!"

"Mankey you can do this. I believe in you…swim back to me!"

Mankey, hearing its trainer, swam back up to the surface and jumped back onto the concrete board and turned around to face its opponent. Starmie then launched the psybeam straight for mankey, who jumped backwards as the beam hit the edge of the board, breaking it in two. On Fay's command, mankey ran to the edge and then leapt into the air. Knowing that starmie needed a moment to recover from two back-to-back psybeams, mankey had a shot at winning.

The pig monkey pokémon landed a low kick directly in starmie's red centerpiece, slamming it into the wall behind Misty. The mysterious pokémon then immediately fell to the ground. The match was over.

"Starmie is unable to battle, mankey is the winner. And the victory goes to Fay from Pallet Town!"

"We did it, mankey!" Fay exclaimed, grabbing his pokémon as it leapt into his arms. "You did a great job buddy. Congrats," mankey smiled in reply.

"Congrats, Fay, you had me there," Misty said, returning starmie. "Now, I'll go and heal up my pokémon, and then I will fight your friend."

Fay returned mankey and then walked into the stands, patting Niko on the back as they traded places. The next challenger stepped up to his side of the pool as Misty returned to hers, pokémon healed up and everything.

"Alright, Niko, right? Let's get started. Same battle: two-on-two. Ready?" Niko nodded. "Great. Go! Staryu!"

" _Now that I know what pokémon Misty uses, this shouldn't be as difficult of a battle._ " Niko thought. "Alright, go bulbasaur!" Niko commanded, sending out his seed pokémon. "Let's start off with a vine whip!"

"Staryu, use rapid spin!" Misty ordered. Staryu then leapt into the air and spun horizontally, repelling the green vines. "Now use swift!" immediately after, the star-shaped pokémon landed back on its feet and launched glowing white stars out from its red center.

"Jump in the air to dodge them!" Niko commanded. He wasn't quite sure if this would work, since he didn't know how high bulbasaur could jump. But his worries were put to rest when the stars missed the seed pokémon. Niko then got out of the way at the swift attack nearly hit him instead. "Phew…that was close."

"Staryu use water gun!" Misty directed, and her pokémon then shot a burst of water at bulbasaur, who dodged by leaping across the pool and landing on the left side. It then ran down the side of the battlefield and used vine whip when it was closer to staryu. The attack landed, and staryu fell back into the water. The problem was, in Niko's mind, how to keep that attack up.

But as he was thinking, he could have sworn that he saw a yellow speckle emit from his pokémon's bulb. Remembering what his Dad had told him about grass pokémon, he figured out what the move was. And just in time—staryu was back on its feet and shooting a water gun at bulbasaur.

"Dodge it, and use stun spore!" Niko yelled. Bulbasaur, figuring out what his trainer was referring to, moved away from the burst of water and blasted out the tiny yellow spores in staryu's direction. The star-shaped pokémon then froze in its place and, now paralyzed, toppled over into the pool.

"Staryu!" Misty screamed. "Humph…well, ya got lucky, kid! Unfortunately your vine whip won't quite work down there."

"You're right—it won't," Niko nodded, "But I don't mind waiting. Bulbasaur, be ready. We don't know how long the stun spore lasts."

Bulbasaur nodded, and continued to stare into the pool. After a few minutes, it finally noticed something moving around in the water. Then staryu leapt out of the pool, spinning wildly at bulbasaur.

"Now! Use vine whip!"

"Bulbaaaaaaaaa!" the seed pokémon screamed as it unleashed its green vines from the sides of its bulb. The vines whacked staryu onto the surface of the pool.

"Use stun spore again!" Niko commanded, holding his hand out as a gesture. Bulbasaur then emitted yellow spores from its bulb, paralyzing staryu once again. This time, as it was about to sink, bulbasaur whacked it once more with its vines. Staryu sank to the bottom of the pool again, now out of the match.

"Staryu is unable to battle, bulbasaur wins! Misty will now use her second pokémon!" the gym leader smirked.

"Starmie, come on out! Use swift!" the mysterious pokémon popped out of its pokéball and immediately started shooting white stars at the seed pokémon, who dodged and used vine whip to whack away the stars.

"Bulbasaur, use stun spore on the pool!" Niko exclaimed. For a moment, everyone—even bulbasaur—looked at him like he was crazy. But Niko's pokémon obeyed, and spread the spores out along the water. They seemed to float on the water—which is what Niko was counting on—but for how long was the real question.

But stopped starmie was the priority. Niko commanded bulbasaur to use a vine whip on starmie, who was floating in the air. The attack missed, and starmie retaliated by using a rapid spin. Bulbasaur then dodged by jumping into the air and landing on the mysterious pokémon, and suddenly spinning like a top. Bulbasaur then flew off starmie and into the air, ultimately landing on the concrete board in front of Misty.

"Bulbasaur, get up and use vine whip!" Niko exclaimed. The seed pokémon then stood back up, albeit clumsily, and attempted to steady itself before launching a vine whip towards starmie. However, the star pokémon was too quick, and ended up using rapid spin to knock bulbasaur into the wall behind Misty.

"Bulbasaur is unable to battle, starmie wins! Niko will now send out his second pokémon."

"This isn't a hard choice. Pidgey, I choose you!"

The tiny bird pokémon flew out of its pokéball and hovered in the air opposite starmie. Niko then commanded it to use gust to knock it into the water. Starmie retaliated with a rapid spin and blew the gust back a pidgey, who promptly dodged and tried to tackle the mysterious pokémon. As it got closed, it used close-range gust as starmie stopped spinning. The mysterious pokémon was then sent backwards into the water.

"Use rapid spin again starmie!" Misty yelled, and her pokémon proceeded to spin an inch above the water and back towards pidgey, who again dodged and used gust to make another attempt at propelling it downwards. However, starmie was faster than the gust, and smacked pidgey directly in the stomach, slamming it into the ceiling and then down towards the water.

As pidgey was falling, Niko tried to think of something. He couldn't in time, but pidgey was able to, and right before it hit the water the tiny bird swooped back up and into the air. Starmie congratulated pidgey but launching a bubblebeam at it. Pidgey successfully dodged this move, and struck the mysterious pokémon with a tackle. However, it wasn't strong enough to finish starmie off, and only moved it a little bit backwards.

"Let's finish pidgey off with a swift attack!" Misty directed. Starmie then propelled white stars at pidgey, who retaliated with a strong gust. The attacks collided, neither hitting their intended target. Niko then commanded pidgey to use tackle again, but follow up with a gust. Misty, seeing this strategy again, commanded starmie to use a rapid spin in return. As it was about to collide with the mysterious pokémon, pidgey swooped up into the air to get above starmie. It then proceeded to use gust, pushing the horizontally spinning starmie into the water. It wasn't enough, however, and starmie hovered above the water. Misty then commanded a water gun while starmie was spinning, but pidgey got to it first, tackling it into the water. Starmie fell into the stun spore-infested water and just floated there, paralyzed.

"Pidgey, let's end this now! Use tackle on the red centerpiece!" Niko commanded, and pidgey flew straight down and collided with starmie's center, effectively knocking the pokémon out.

"Starmie is unable to battle, pidgey wins! And the victory goes to Niko from…" the judge paused, forgetting where Niko hailed from.

"Pallet Town…" was the response.

"Niko from Pallet Town!" the judge finished, throwing a flag up in his direction. Niko called pidgey over and hugged it tightly.

"You did great, pidgey! I'm so proud of you!" Niko yelled happily. Pidgey chirped in response. As they were bonding over their shared win, Fay, JJ, and Bill joined him at his end of the pool. A minute later, so did Misty.

"Fay, Niko, you have both beaten me in battle, and thus have earned the cascade badges for yourselves. Congratulations!" She said, giggling a little as she grabbed two tear-shaped badges from her coat's pocket and handing them to the two young trainers.

"Thank you so much, Misty. Pidgey and I had a lot of fun battling!" Niko said, holding his tiny bird pokémon on his shoulder. Fay nodded in agreement.

"Anytime guys. I really enjoyed both of those battles. Although…" she said in a concerned tone, looking back at the pool, "I'm not sure if I should clean out the pool or wait for the stun spore to disappear…I don't exactly know how that works."

The four thought for a moment. Bill was the first to speak.

"I can look more into it. No offense, Niko, but I'm pretty sure this strategy had to have been used somewhere else. Misty, I'll go home and look into this and get back to you."

"Oh, great! Thanks, Bill!" Misty happily replied, winking a little at him, eliciting a tiny blush from the inventor. "Anyways, the nearest gyms to Cerulean are Saffron, Celadon, and Vermillion. Take your pick, all three are challenging gyms in their own special way," Misty said, turning to Fay and Niko, winking as she finished talking.

"Well," Fay started, "I guess we'll just make a game time decision on that."

"Indeed. Anyways, let's head to the pokémon center. I know my pokémon could use some rest and, honestly, I'm a little hungry, too," Niko said, laughing a little. Fay and JJ nodded. "You're both welcome to join us, if you want to."

"Sure! It's always great to get to know the next generation of pokémon trainers!" Misty said excitedly. "And then I can show you guys around Cerulean City. It'll be fun!" The group, joined by Misty and Bill, then set off towards the pokémon center. Now with two badges in hand, Fay and Niko proudly exited the Cerulean gym, ready for their next adventure.

* * *

 **Author's note: Like with the Pewter gym battle, I really enjoyed writing this battle, too! I tried to extend the length of the battle a little bit, and I think I did it well enough (hopefully you think the same!). I also tried coming up with new strategies, not sure how...err...possible they actually are, but oh well, plot is all powerful, right? Anyways, I hope you enjoyed!**


	12. Episode 12: The pokémon daycare!

**Episode 12: The pokémon daycare and the egg!**

For the rest of the day, the group toured Cerulean City with Misty and Bill, which included shopping, sightseeing, and other activities. They stayed the night in the pokémon center, and at the beginning of the day headed off to the next city.

"So guys, the map shows that Saffron City is the closest, I guess we can head there next," JJ said, pointing the rather large city in the center of the map. "Shouldn't take too long to get there, it's just down the road here."

"Alright, let's head there then! Is there a gym?" Fay wondered. Niko pulled out the pamphlet containing information on all of the gym leaders in Kanto.

Niko nodded, showing his friend the pamphlet. "It's a psychic type gym. The leader is Sabrina."

"Oh…shoot…" JJ replied, "Psychic type pokémon are pretty strong, since they don't have a lot of weaknesses."

"Well, Fay and I will win the Saffron badge. We've both had difficult gym battles, and we've both overcome them. I think we'll defeat Sabrina," Niko said in a determined tone. "We should do some training first, though."

"Good idea, but let's walk a bit more before we take a training break. We still have a ways to go before Saffron City," Fay said as the group continued down the road. A couple of hours later, they reached Saffron City. As they were heading into the city, they were halted by a security guard.

"Woah woah woah guys. Where do you think you're going?" the guard said, pressing his hand against JJ, who looked up at him with a confused stare. "The city is on lockdown. You can't enter."

"Wait…why is the city on lockdown?" Fay inquired.

"There are numerous threats of mass violence from a gang called Team Rocket. We are trying to get people out of the city, not let them in. Sorry kids, I can't let you through."

JJ pulled out the map again, looking for the next closest city. "What about Vermillion City? Is that safe?" the guard nodded, "Well, is there any way for us to get there if the only way is through Saffron?"

"Sure there is!" the guard motioned over to a small building nearby. "There are underground pathways all throughout the Kanto region. You can take that path down to Vermillion City. Good luck, kids!"

"Well, thank you, sir!" Niko said, waving to the security guard as they walked over to the underground entrance.

The tunnel looked like it hadn't been traversed in years. It was dark, damp, and JJ could have sworn he saw some rattata crawling along the ground. As they walked down the wet, concrete steps to the underground pathway. As they got to the floor, they saw flickering lights swinging from the ceiling, revealing a pathway to their right.

"Lovely…" Fay muttered sarcastically. He grabbed out a pokéball, tossing it onto the ground. Charmander popped out, looking up at its trainer. "Charmander, can you use your tail to light up our way?" the lizard pokémon nodded happily as it grabbed its tail and began walking down the tunnel. For an hour or so, the gang continued walking, until they reached another set of steps. These ones, however, were a little cleaner—"cleaner" is a loose term to describe the state of the steps. They inched their way up the steps, careful not to slip on any of the random damp spots speckled around the stairway.

Walking out, they were momentarily blinded by the light as the path to Vermillion city came into vision. It was still a day's walk, according to the map, but it was nonetheless clear. The group continued walking down the road for a bit, only stopping to have lunch. As they were about to find a clearing to sit down near, they heard some sounds off in the distance. Playful sounds. Of pokémon. Moving closer, they then began to see what looked like a ranch with several different species of pokémon just frolicking around.

The boys wandered down to the ranch, curious as to what it was all about. As they approached, an old man looked up from his work to notice the group passing by. He smiled warmly, and looked like he looked forward to meeting new people.

"Hello boys, can I help you?" he said, standing up and wiping dirt off of his hands.

"We were uh just passing by on our way to Vermillion City," JJ explained.

"Ohh I see. What're you doing in Vermillion?"

"My friends Niko and Fay plan on challenging the gym leader there," the old man raised his eyebrows, intrigued.

"Ahhh…Lt. Surge. Tough gym leader," he responded with awe. "How many badges do you both have?"

"Only two sir. We just got our badge in Cerulean City, actually," Fay responded. The old man smiled in reply.

"Good for you two! Only six to go until you can challenge the Indigo League! Anyways, my name is Rick, and I'm the owner of this ranch and pokémon daycare. Would you boys like to take a tour around it? You might gain something from your visit that will help with your journey!" Rick said, motioning towards the door to what seemed to be his house.

The house was a quaint little townhome on the inside. Rick walked the group past hallways lined with family photos and miscellaneous knickknacks. They then entered the kitchen, where an old lady was cooking some sort of meal. As Rick led them into the kitchen, he introduced them to his wife, Abigail, who turned around and waved to the boys before getting back to cooking. The main attraction of the ranch was the acres of land set aside for pokémon to roam about. Rick walked the trainers past groups of tauros, nidorinos, pidgeottos, and several others. After a couple of minutes they reached another little house, this one being the daycare center.

"The daycare is the primary stopping point for pokémon trainers. We actually allow people to keep their pokémon here for us to raise them while they're away. It's quite a lot of fun, actually, since we get to meet so many different personalities and species of pokémon," Rick said, petting a pikachu curled up on a little couch in the main lobby.

"So trainers just leave their pokémon here for you to take care of them?" Niko asked, curious as to how this system worked.

"Well, essentially yes. Say a trainer catches a seventh pokémon, but they can't carry that with them on their travels. They would then come here and we would raise it for them while they're away. Often times, trainers will rotate their teams of pokémon, and we take care of the rest."

"What if the trainer…doesn't come back?" JJ asked, immediately souring the mood of the conversation. Rick dismayed at the question.

"That is certainly a rare occurrence, JJ," he started, "but it does happen unfortunately. While the trainer might not want their pokémon anymore, we then take it upon ourselves to raise it as if it were our own. And we love raising pokémon. Occasionally, we also get into breeding them, which helps us pay for things required to run the ranch."

JJ perked up a little. Pokémon breeding sounded interesting, considering how little he knew about it. "What does that involve?"

Rick raised an eyebrow, confused as to what JJ meant with his question. "Well, you see JJ, when a male pokémon and a female pokémon like each other very much…"

"No no! Not what I meant!" he retorted, albeit a little frustrated. "I mean…what's it like being a pokémon breeder? What are the responsibilities of such?"

"Ah, I see what you're trying to ask now. It's a surprisingly difficult discipline to understand. You see, all pokémon are divided into different breeding groups based on how similar they look. For example, a mouse pokémon like pikachu can't breed with a bird like pidgey. They are simply not anatomically compatible. You also have to learn how to aid a pokémon in giving birth. Now, let me tell you, _that_ takes a lot of getting used to, again since every pokémon is different. I could go on for hours, but I wouldn't want to bore you with the details."

"Try me," JJ replied. Rick's eyebrow was raised again in surprise.

"Sure, why don't you boys join Abigail and I for lunch then? I'm quite sure she made enough. Occasionally we make extra for passing trainers and some of their pokémon," the boys nodded in acceptance and the four went back into the house to eat. After getting to know the old ranch couple further, Fay and Niko went back outside to let their pokémon interact with those on the ranch, and more generally take the moment to relax. It had been a tense battle in Cerulean City and, with all of the walking they've been doing lately, the break was much needed.

A little while later, JJ, Rick, and Abigail walked back outside to greet the two trainers, who were busy watching charmander and bulbasaur play with a group of nidoran. They approached the trainers, apparently with something important to say.

"Hey, guys…" JJ said, looking at Fay and Niko, this time with a serious look in his eyes.

"What's up man?" Fay wondered, turning around.

"I…uh…" JJ replied, albeit a little nervously.

"We offered JJ an apprenticeship with us. He has expressed interest in being a pokémon breeder, and we wondered if he would like to stay with us and learn more about it all."

Fay and Niko turned to each other, both clearly in shock. Since JJ had stopped his own gym challenge back in Pewter City, neither of them had given much thought to what he actually wanted to do, or what his goal was going to be. They had been so caught up in their own goals and aspirations that they nearly forgot about his. Niko was the first to speak.

"So…did you say yes?"

JJ shook his head in response. "I don't want to, actually," he turned to Rick and Abigail, "I've learned a lot from you two today, about pokémon breeding and what's involved in being a breeder. But you see, I chose to go on this journey with my friends, and I can't just leave them out of nowhere. I do want to study this more, and maybe be a breeder one day. But…my friends matter more. I want to see them do great things."

"JJ…that's very noble of you," Rick said, patting his shoulder, "we only offered it to you because you sounded so interested. You know, I discovered my passion for breeding pokémon when I was on my own adventures as a young trainer. At the time, I was challenging gyms, too, hoping to be a league champion like everyone else my age. But as I travelled around the world, I learned that while battling was so much fun, it was also a lot of fun to raise pokémon, too. Now, maybe you don't end up being a breeder, or a pokémon master, but you'll always have those memories of your adventures with your friends. Regardless of where life takes you, you can always count on that."

"Thanks, Rick. That means a lot," JJ said, looking up resolutely at the ranch owners.

"Anytime honey," Abigail said, "say, how about you stop by the daycare in the morning? We have something we would like to give you," JJ nodded in return. "By the way, if it wasn't already obvious, you three can spend the night here. I'm sure it will beat laying on the ground or up against a tree trunk like you're probably used to."

And so the group spent the night in the little townhome that Rick and Abigail owned, and by the next morning, they were ready to head off to Vermillion City. But before they could leave, they had a small gift for JJ.

"Consider this a present from us, as a token of our appreciation for your interest in breeding," Rick said, walking over with a blanket in his crossed arms. Abigail helped her husband remove the blanket, only to reveal an egg underneath it. "We get pokémon eggs all of the time, and occasionally give them out as gifts to passing trainers. We would like you to have this one."

Rick handed over the orange and beige-colored egg to JJ, who held it in his own arms like a newborn baby. Smiling at it, he then looked up and expressed his gratitude with a "thanks!" and turned to his friends, who gave him a thumbs up.

"Now, I have all of the confidence in the world that you will take care of this egg and the pokémon that hatches from it," Abigail said gracefully.

"I certainly will. Again, uh thank you," JJ replied. And with a new addition to their group, they headed off to Vermillion City, in hopes of earning Niko and Fay their third gym badge.

* * *

 **Author's note: I had difficulty coming up with a reason why the group needed to skip past Saffron City, in an attempt to emulate the games here. Hopefully it worked out in your mind, but no worries, they will certainly make it back to Saffron. Hope you enjoyed, see you next time!**


	13. Episode 13: Family ties in Vermillion

**Episode 13: Family ties in Vermillion City**

Vermillion City was the premier port city in Kanto. It was an international hub for several industries, including fishing and sailing. Like many other cities, it also has a gym. It was also Niko's hometown. Before moving to Pallet Town, Niko's family lived here, where his father was doing research on the biology of fish pokémon. The decision to move was largely his choice, since he was offered a teaching job in Pallet. As they walked down the streets, Niko had some flashbacks of his early childhood, passing by old shops that he regularly went to as a kid.

Entering the pokémon center, the group went to heal their companions while having a quick lunch. As usual, they sat down and looked at the gym in that town to strategize. "So…the gym leader here is Lt. Surge, right?" Niko said, looking at their trusty pamphlet. "He is a former army lieutenant who uses electric pokémon."

"So…they're only weak to ground types, right?" Niko looked up at Fay, who nodded in return. "Well, guess neither of us have a direct advantage against him. This will be a fun match, I think."

"Yeah…uh what else do you guys want to do in the city? Niko, you have anything you want to see?"

"Not really. There's some candy shops that I remember going to as a kid, but otherwise nothing much else," Niko, now busy with his lunch, didn't say much else after that. For a moment, he looked slightly uncomfortable. JJ then perked up as he eyed something in the pamphlet.

"Hey! There's this pokémon fan club down near the port. We could go check that out, whaddya guys say?" JJ asked, looking up at his friends. Niko looked down, playing with his food. He didn't address his friend's question.

"Yeah, we could go check it out. Maybe we'll tour the city today and go to the gym tomorrow. A fan club sounds pretty interesting," Fay nodded. He looked over at Niko, who was still playing with his food. "You alright Niko?" Fay asked curiously. The trainer looked up, still not comfortable.

"What's uh up, bud?" JJ inquired.

"Oh, nothing, just not a fan of that club."

"Why not?"

"I…know people at that club. Not a huge fan," Niko responded, now eating his food so he wouldn't have to continue talking.

After eating, the group got up and left the pokémon center so they could tour the city. Walking down to the port, they noticed a crowd of people huddled around a little building. Fay and JJ, unsure of the cause for commotion, walked over, Niko a few paces behind them. They pushed through the crowd until they got to the front, realizing that they were looking at some sort of performance.

"Hey, what's going on here?" JJ asked someone standing by. The person, much taller and with long brown hair, peered down at the young trainer, giving him a look that indicated JJ was asking a stupid question.

"It's the pokémon fan club's annual performance giveaway, isn't it obvious?"

"Uhh no, we're not from around here," JJ responded.

"Clearly not. Listen kid, please move out of the way so real fans can watch," the taller man said, shoving JJ and Fay out of the way. This clearly agitated the latter, so shoved him back. "Hey what's the big idea?"

"Don't push around my friend like that," Fay said, sizing up the taller person. "I don't care how interested you are in this, there's no reason to treat people like they're irrelevant."

"But you clearly are, kid!"

"Look, just because we don't know everything like you seem to doesn't mean we're irrelevant," Niko finally spoke up, excusing himself between a couple. The taller man looked over, puzzled at Niko's appearance, as if he knew him.

"Hey! I know you!" he said, grabbing Niko's shoulder and pulling him forward. "Mr. President, look! It's your grandson!"

Suddenly, everyone stopped—the performers, the crowd, Fay and JJ, and finally an older looking man standing in the middle of the performance. He took off the sunglasses that sat atop a long, pointed nose, and peered over at the four boys standing in the front of the crowd. For a moment, he looked in disbelief.

"Niko…son, is that you?" he said, quickly moving over to the crowd. "How have you been? It's been so long!" He then pulled his grandson into a tight embrace, nearly crushing his blood relative. "What're you up to nowadays? How's the family? Are you still in school?"

Niko looked away for a moment, clearly embarrassed at being the sudden center of attention. He then turned to his grandpa and responded. "Hi, Grandpa, it's me. I've been travelling with my friends recently, battling gyms and hoping to enter the Indigo League."

The older man chuckled loudly, then looked back down at his nephew. "Well that's excellent son! I'm so proud of you! You're finally becoming a trainer, just like you always dreamed!"

Niko shuddered at the comment, looking almost insulted for a moment. "Are you, though? Are you proud of me? You never seemed to be proud of my parents, so why would that apply to me in any way?" Everyone around them gasped in shock. Fay and JJ were especially confused. Even though Niko never talked about his grandfather, they seemed to just assume that they had been on good terms. Guess both of them were wrong.

"Niko…I'm sorry I wasn't around much. And I regret the way I acted towards your parents. I miss them every day, more and more. I just wish that they would call me sometime."

"Maybe if you treated them and their marriage better, then they would allow you in their life!" Niko was now yelling. "Listen, I don't care how famous you are, or that you're the president of some stupid fan club. I'm here to battle Lt. Surge, and then me and my friends are leaving."

That said, Niko then stormed back through the now dumbfounded crowd. Fay and JJ then ran off as well, following him. They eventually found their friend sitting on the edge of a dock, looking out at the water alone. JJ was about to approach him when Fay motioned him to stop. "I want to see what's wrong," JJ whispered, only to see Fay shake his head in return.

"No guys, it's fine. I know you're there," Niko said, getting up and turning to them, the sunset at his back. "It's just…my grandfather was kind of an ass to my parents when we lived here. He never considered their marriage to be legitimate, didn't approve of how they raised me, and his gambling addiction landed him back in our house for a while. He never contributed to helping raise me while my parents struggled to make time, since they were both working back then. That's partly why we ended up moving to Pallet Town—to get away from him, and to live in a place that was more affordable. Sorry that I lashed out earlier, I know I shouldn't have but..." Fay cut him off.

"Dude, we get it. No family is perfect; every family is dysfunctional in its own way. JJ and I can certainly attest to that," JJ nodded. "We had no idea you felt this way. If you don't want to go back, that's fine. We did want to see the performances, though, but we can do that another time if you want."

Niko stood there for a moment while the sun was blanketing the city in an orange glow. "No, we can go back. Let's go back."

With that, the three walked over to the fan club, which was now much emptier than it had been previously. For a small building, the fan club was certainly incredible. There were golden statues of different types of (presumably powerful) pokémon, and a couple of standing tables were members talked over a drink or two. Only a dozen or so members were still around by the time Niko and his friends arrived, and were chatting wildly about their shared love for pokémon. As the trio walked in, the members glared over at them.

"What do you want?"

"How dare you insult our president?"

"Who do you think you are, interrupting our performance?"

"Now now everyone," the president said, getting up from the black leather couch that he was sitting on. "Let's calm down for a moment. If you may, I would like to invite my grandson into our club. He is family after all."

" _What does he know about family in the first place?_ " Niko, still a little angry, wanted to spout back, but realized it was against the better part of his nature to do so. Instead, he walked over with Fay and JJ and sat down in another leather couch across from his grandfather.

"So…you're challenging the gyms in Kanto, is that right?" Niko nodded, "How many have you earned so far?" Niko put up two fingers, indicating the number of badges he had received. "Interesting…so that would be the Viridian and Pewter gyms? Have you thought about challenging the Cerulean gym yet? I heard Misty is quite the firecra—"

"Pewter and Cerulean gyms. The Viridian gym was closed when we passed through."

"Ah, I see," the president noted, sitting up a little more. "And now you plan on challenging Lt. Surge, correct?" Niko nodded again. "Excellent. Well, he is quite the character, Surge is."

"You know him?" Fay questioned.

"Know him? Of course I do! He's a card-carrying member of this club! He won't readily admit it, but he totally is!" the president winked at Fay. "Now, Niko, what kinds of pokémon do you have? Did you get your first one from Professor Oak? Did he allow you to choose, or did he do it at random? Occasionally he decides to randomly give out a pokémon for their trainers. Usually it doesn't work out in the long term, since the trainer and pokémon don't bond correctly…"

Niko pulled out his three pokéballs, and tossed them onto the ground in between him and his grandfather, releasing pidgey, abra, and finally bulbasaur. The president carefully eyed his grandson's team of pokémon, and after a couple of minutes, sat back with a look of pride on his face.

"They look like an excellent team. You have definitely earned your badges, and I'm sure you'll continue to earn them in the future. That is, if you keep training these young stars."

"Thanks…grandpa…" Niko finally responded, petting bulbasaur's bulb. "Coming from you, that means something."

"Listen, Niko…" the president said, looking at his grandson through his thin-rimmed glasses. "I know you don't have a lot of respect for me, and it's well-deserved. I wasn't around much, and when I was, I neglected you and didn't appreciate your parents. I want to get to know you, now as you're becoming a man, but if you don't want me in your life, I completely understand."

The young trainer sat there, still caressing his starter pokémon. After a moment, he looked up at his grandfather, as if he had made a decision. "Alright…I'm sorry for exploding on you earlier. It wasn't totally right of me to do so. I'm just protective of my family. They've given up a lot so Jake and I can have a nice upbringing, since they didn't really have that. I'm ready to bring you back into my life, but you have to talk to my parents, first."

"I can do that. And who is Jake…?" the president wondered. Niko, who would have normally been angry, just gave him a look of disappointment instead.

"Jake is my younger brother. He was born just after we arrived in Pallet Town. He is almost 10, now, and I'm sure he would love to meet his grandfather."

"Well, I can certainly plan for a trip out there. Hopefully we can all come back together, as a family."

"I would like that, grandpa," and with that, Niko stood up and hugged his grandfather, cementing a new chapter in their lives. Some of the members, who had been watching the whole situation unfold, brushed away tears emitting from their eyes. Even JJ shed a single tear.

The president then walked over to his desk in a nearby room. A minute later, he walked out with three small slips of cardstock, and handed them to Niko.

"What's this…?" he said, reading the pieces of paper.

"Niko, these are three tickets aboard the S.S. Anne. It's a luxury cruise ship that departs every year from Vermillion City. I know the captain personally, as he is also a member of my club. You see, the S.S. Anne was the first major cruise ship in the Kanto region. Years ago, around the time you were born, the ship sank in a tragic series of events. A few years later, a new one was built in its place. It is departing again tomorrow, if you and your friends would like to go."

The three were dumbfounded, the members of the club even more so. Niko, Fay, and JJ all looked at each other for a moment, unsure of what to say. Eventually, they reached a decision after quietly talking it over.

"Grandpa, we'll take them. Thank you so much," Niko said, a little more cheerful. The president smiled, and turned to his members.

"Say, how about we all go out for dinner? My treat!" he exclaimed to the rest of the club. Everyone cheered, and the group of adults—and the group—all went out to a relatively fancy restaurant. There, the president got to know Niko and his friends better, and began to share stories of when he was a young trainer as well. During the set of tales, he described with adoration, and in incredible detail, the pokémon he raised on his journeys. There were even some that weren't native to the Kanto region. He told more stories about some of his more memorable battles, both gym and league challenges. All through the evening, Niko was astounded at how amazing his grandfather actually was, and wondered how he had come to have such a soured relationship with him.

Leaving the restaurant, Niko and his friend said good-bye to the club. That day had been a life-changing experience for everyone. The next day, they would walk aboard the S.S. Anne, which would lead to even more life changing experiences. They just didn't know it yet.


	14. Episode 14: All aboard the SS Anne!

**Episode 14: All aboard the S.S. Anne!**

The next morning the group packed up and prepared to take a cruise on the S.S. Anne, a cruise ship that regularly sets sail from Kanto and travels around the world. Thanks to Niko's grandfather, they were able to get the tickets. For them, it would be a nice vacation. JJ had looked up some of the information on a pokémon center computer, and there was supposedly a battle tournament held during the trip. He also found that the trip would last up to a month, which was fine with them, since they were certain that the gym would be open when they got back.

Heading towards the port, the group chatted about some of the things they would get to do and see on the cruise. They all wanted to take part in the tournament, obviously, but there were also plays being held, food-eating contests, and other activities of the sort. The port that day was crowded, as family members were saying farewell to other passengers and their pokémon. The group moved through the crowd with relative ease as they got to the entrance of the ship, flashed their tickets, and boarded the S.S. Anne.

Entering the ship, they were directed to a reception desk where they were each given room keys and a pamphlet describing all of the cruise events in more detail. Thanking the receptionist, the three headed to their room to drop off their bags and begin to tour the ship, leaving their pokéballs on them, in case they needed them, for whatever reason.

"So guys, what should we do first?" Niko asked. He was in better spirits that day than previously. He was really looking forward to this cruise, not only since it represented a new start with his grandfather, but also it would give him a chance to bond more with his pokémon.

"Well, let's look at the pamphlet," Fay responded, picking the collection of paper out of his back pocket and shuffling through it, "there's a performance tonight, and the start of the battle tournament is in a few hours, after we've set sail. We could just tour the ship until then?"

Niko and JJ both nodded, and the three began making their way around the ship. It truly was an incredible creation—the ship, that is. It took the group nearly half an hour to get from one end to the other. Most of that time was spent swerving in an out of people in the hallways, but nonetheless it illustrated to them the sheet size of the cruise ship.

"Ow! Oh, ex-excuse me!" a girl yelled as JJ accidentally ran into her. She was a little shorter than him, with long, slightly curly, brown hair and hazel eyes. The two looked at each other for a moment, and then the girl quickly walked past the group and down the hall.

"What was that all about?" JJ wondered, scratching his short curly blonde hair. Niko and Fay shrugged, thinking nothing of it, and continued walking to the other end of the ship.

After eating a quick lunch at one of the many food stands around the ship, the group noticed a battlefield and stands being set up, presumably for the tournament. As they finished, a crowd suddenly appeared, all heading over to the registration table to sign up. Nodding to each other, the group joined the crowd, eventually getting a chance to register their teams of pokémon. As the stands started to fill up, a short man in a suit walked to the center of the battlefield with a wireless microphone.

"Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to the annual S.S. Anne battle tournament!" The crowd began to cheer wildly. "Now, over the next week or so we will be hosting a tournament-style battle for all of the trainers who registered just now. Today's matches will be only one-vs-one, and by the end of the day, only half of the competitors will remain. Maisie, how many trainers do we have registered?" A curly blonde woman, presumably named Maisie, looked down at the registration sheet, and yelled out the number "64" to the announcer. "Alright, we have 64 trainers registered! What an incredible turnout, right folks?" the crowd cheered in response. "Now, up on the screen behind me you will see the randomly selected match-ups for the first round."

The 64 trainer profiles across the screen then disappeared, only to reappear in 32 different pairs. Niko, Fay, and JJ were all up against unfamiliar trainers, with JJ being in the first round, Niko in the second, and Fay in the third.

"And the first round will be between Jeremy of Pallet Town and Paul of Fuchsia City!" JJ walked to one end of the battlefield after asking Fay to hold his pokémon egg. On the other end was a tall, lanky kid, who didn't look to be much older than 15, holding a pokéball. "You boys may begin!"

"Alright eevee, your time to shine!" JJ said, throwing out a pokéball containing his starter pokémon. Paul responded with a porygon. Niko pulled out his pokédex:

" _Porygon, the virtual pokémon. A pokémon that consist entirely of programming code. Capable of moving freely in cyberspace._ "

"What a fascinating pokémon…" Fay wondered after listening to the pokédex.

"Porygon, let's use psybeam!" Paul commanded, and his pokémon then launched a beam of psychic energy straight for eevee, who dodged and landed a close-range sand attack.

"Great job, eevee! Now let's follow up with dig!" the evolution pokémon responded by digging into the ground, only to disappear.

"Porygon, let's speed you up, use agility!" porygon then started moving in a circular motion, hoping to increase its speed.

"Wait for it, eevee…" JJ said, trying to find the right time. As porygon stopped its agility, he commanded eevee to attack. The foxlike v then shot out of the ground like a rocket, knocking porygon into the air.

The crowd would have considered the battle over at this point, but Paul had another trick up his sleeve. "Use tri attack!" the virtual pokémon then stopped midair and generated three balls of energy, one blue, yellow, and red, and released it in eevee's direction.

"Dodge it, and use dig again!" JJ directed. His pokémon then jumped down back into its hole.

"That won't work this time. Porygon, use tri attack on the hole where eevee is!"

Porygon then lowered itself down to the hole, and unleashed another tri attack. The attack seemed to hit, as the exhaust from it came out of the original hole eevee had dug. However, the evolution pokémon wasn't in it.

"Now eevee!" JJ yelled out, and eevee popped out from behind porygon and slammed into it, knocking it out.

"Wow! Looks like porygon is unable to battle, eevee wins! And the winner of the first round is Jeremy from Pallet Town!"

"Great job, eevee! You did amazing out there!" JJ said, cuddling his pokémon as Niko traded places with him. He was opposed by a young woman this time, who happened to also be from Pallet Town. He name was Lily.

Niko made the first move, sending out pidgey. Lily responded by using vulpix. "Pidgey, use gust!" the tiny bird pokémon aggressively flapped its wings at vulpix, who retaliated with an ember attack. A fire tornado erupted as a result, and vulpix leapt through it and tackled pidgey midair. The two fell to the ground and rolled around a little before pidgey grips onto vulpix's legs, pulling it up into the air before dropping it again and slamming into the ground after it.

"Vulpix let's go, use flamethrower!" Lily directed, and her pokémon opened fire on the pidgey, enveloping it in flames.

Or so it thought. Pidgey reacted with a gust, manipulating the flames and creating a tornado. Pidgey flew out of it and used gust again to launch the tornado at vulpix. The fox pokémon dodged the flames, and then used quick attack towards pidgey, who also responded with a quick attack. Both pokémon collided, creating a cloud of dust as they both fell to the ground. Pidgey got back on its feet; vulpix did not.

"Wow, looks like Vulpix is unable to battle, pidgey wins!" Niko congratulated pidgey before returning it and switching places with Fay, who prepared for his battle against a young adult named Tony. Both trainers sent out their pokémon—Fay with his charmander, Tony with his raticate.

"Charmander, use ember!"

"Raticate, use super fang!"

The rat ran up to the lizard pokémon, trying to bite its tail as it took an ember to the mouth. Charmander got out of the way as the rat collapsed to the ground. The fire type whipped around and slapped raticate in the side, engulfing the rat pokémon in flames.

Tony clenched his teeth, clearly in frustration now, and commanded his pokémon to use skull bash. The rat pokémon lowered its head and it began to glow. Moments later, it rushed like a bullet at the little lizard, who attempted to dodge but was hit on its left side and fell to the ground. Fay then commanded charmander to use ember again, which hit the now exhausted raticate.

"Alright, use one more scratch! Let's finish this!" Fay directed as his companion leapt at raticate and slashed at its face. Raticate collapsed to the ground; charmander and Fay won.

"Raticate is unable to battle! Charmander wins, and the victory goes to Fay from Pallet Town!" Tony walked up and shook Fay's hand, as the two walked off the field to talk for a moment.

The next 29 rounds seemed to go by relatively fast, even if in reality it took a few hours. During the tournament, JJ and Niko noticed the same brown-haired girl they ran into earlier, using a squirtle to fight a doduo. She ultimately won, moving onto the next round. After all of the battles were over, the trio walked back to their rooms to relax for a couple of hours. Walking out of their room later, they decided to see one of the performances offered by the cruise.

The performances were held in a large room on the top floor of the ship. There were dozens of tables set out, along with a bar and food stand opposite the stage. The group took a seat at the table as the first performer started. The performer—a woman with short, hot pink hair, chose to do a couple rounds of karaoke with what seemed to be talking meowth. For a moment, JJ thought he was dreaming, since it was quite obvious that pokémon couldn't talk.

After the karaoke, Fay decided to get up and grab some food, with Niko and JJ watching over his seat. As he approached the food stand, he noticed the same brunette girl from earlier. Standing next to her, picking up food, he was about to say something when she beat him to the punch.

"Hey, you're that guy from earlier!" she said, quietly but certainly with excitement. Fay turned to her and nodded. "I'm so sorry that I bumped into your friend, it was a total accident. I'm kinda a clutz sometimes."

"Oh, don't worry about it. JJ is a clutz sometimes too. My name's Fay," the trainer said, holding out his hand.

"Brittany," the girl replied, shaking Fay's hand. "Hey, nice battling out there today. Your charmander is pretty strong!"

"Yeah, he's a real fighter. Same to your squirtle," Brittany smiled and thanked him.

"Anyways, I should get going. Enjoy the rest of your night!" she said, walking off to her table. Fay continued grabbing some food and then returned to JJ and Niko so that they could also grab some food.

* * *

The next day, the group walked back to the battlefield for the second round of the tournament. This time, there were only 32 trainers, and by the end of the day, only 16 would remain. The announced made small talk with people in the crowd before bringing everyone together for the second day.

"Welcome one and all to the second round of the S.S. Anne battle tournament! Like yesterday, we will show the randomly set up matches on that screen," he said, pointing to the screen up above the crowd. "Annnnd now, let's see the match-ups!"

The names shifted around on the screen until there were 16 pairs of faces. Niko was the first in their group to go—in the 7th battle. Then Fay in the 10th, and JJ in the 14th. As they watched the battles, Fay thought some more about Brittany. Later that evening, he noticed she was sitting alone at the table, but chose not to say anything since he had already decided on going to bed. He figured she was alone because her friends were grabbing food or something. Not thinking much else of it, he decided to continue watching the battle.

Eventually it was Niko's turn. As he walked to the far end of the field, he noticed a familiar face opposite him. It was the brunette that JJ had bumped into.

"And now the 7th battle of the day: Niko from Pallet Town versus Brittany from Vermillion City! Begin!"

"Bulbasaur, I choose you!" Niko yelled, sending out his starter pokémon. Brittany retaliated with her squirtle again.

"Hey! That's the girl I bumped into!" JJ commented, pointing his finger in her direction.

"Yeah, I ran into her last night, too, at the food stand," Fay mentioned, putting JJ's arm back down so they could watch the match.

"Bulbasaur, let's start off with a stun spore!" Niko exclaimed as the seed pokémon emitted tiny yellow spores towards its opponent.

"Squirtle use rapid spin to blow the spores away!" Brittany commanded. The tiny turtle pokémon leapt into the air and started spinning quickly, the spores now bouncing off of its shell. "And aim for bulbasaur, now!"

Squirtle then launched forward, colliding with bulbasaur as the two moved backwards. "Use vine whip to grab it!" Niko ordered, and bulbasaur brought out its green vines and gripped the spinning shell, only to halt the turtle in its place. "And throw it across the field!"

"Bulbaaa-saur!" the seed pokémon tossed squirtle onto the ground.

"And use stun spore one more time, follow up with a vine whip!"

"Water gun!"

The stun spore and water gun collided in a way that was reminiscent of the battle with Misty. Bulbasaur then proceeded to use vine whip, slapping squirtle in the face and shell a few times before its opponent succumbed to the attack.

"Squirtle is unable to battle, bulbasaur wins, and the victory goes to Niko from Pallet town!"

Niko returned bulbasaur and immediately went up to thank Brittany for the battle. As they shook hands, she seemed to take it all with grace, and the two walked back to the stands to join Fay and JJ, making small talk along the way (even though Niko was terrible with small talk).

"Hey guys, this is…"

"Brittany, yeah, we met already!" Fay said, waving cheerfully to her. JJ also waved, and tried to apologize for running into her the previous day, but she disregarded it, again with grace.

The four continued talking during the next two battles until Fay had to go up. His battle was against a trainer who used a muk, and Fay decided to use mankey for this match. He ultimately came out on top, advancing to the next round. JJ's match also went well, when he used beedrill to fight a machoke, also advancing.

For the rest of the tournament, they kept getting to know Brittany. She was a native of Vermillion City who had recently become a pokémon trainer after receiving a squirtle from her aunt, who was a police officer and owned a blastoise and gave her an egg as a gift. Since receiving squirtle, she hasn't travelled far, and hadn't given much thought to travelling around the Kanto region. Then she got to know the group.

"So you guys are going around collecting gym badges?" she asked, as if shocked at this idea.

"Yeah, it's actually a lot of fun!" Niko said, "After this cruise we're heading to the Vermillion gym to challenge Lt. Surge for our third badge!"

"Oh…he's tough…" Brittany said with a concerned look.

"Psh, that's not an issue. Fay her challenged both Brock and Misty when he was at a massive disadvantage both times and was able to win."

"Well, I guess you're right. You're both pretty good battlers anyways. Guess I shouldn't be that surprised."

"Not at all. They're doing pretty well for themselves right now, actually," JJ mentioned, "I think they'll win the Indigo League!"

Fay, Niko, and Brittany all looked at him, confused. "Uhh…JJ…only one person can win…" Fay said in an obvious tone.

"Right, right," JJ said scratching his head, "Well, you'll both do really well…is what I meant…" the other three still gave him a suspicious look, and continued walking down to the performance hall to have dinner, this time inviting Brittany to join them. She gladly accepted, to Fay's surprise, since he was under the impression that she was here with other people.

"Oh, no no, I came on this cruise by myself. My aunt gave me her ticket," she mentioned as they took a seat at the table. The first performance that night was a group of dancers that were famous back in Saffron City.

The group later departed back to their room after, saying farewell to Brittany, and hoping to see her the following day at the tournament. Before heading to sleep, they spent some time talking about her. She seemed like a decent enough person, and they wanted to ask her a question the next day.

* * *

"Welcome to the third day of the S.S. Anne battle tournament! Today, we have 16 trainers, but by the end, we will only have 8! These matches are also going to be two-on-two battles. Now, let's see who will face off against who," the announcer bellowed through the microphone as the faces again moved around in random fashion, ultimately creating 8 different pairings.

"Hmm…well then," Fay said as he noticed his opponent in the 2nd battle. "Looks like we'll be facing off against each other, JJ."

His friend looked at him with a determined look, and nodded. "Guess so," JJ responded.


	15. Episode 15: The atrocious pokémon!

**Episode 15: The atrocious pokémon!**

For the third round of the tournament aboard the S.S. Anne, Fay and JJ would be facing off in a two-vs-two pokémon battle. As they got to their respective ends, the announcer introduced them, also noting that they were hometown friends.

"And…you may begin!"

"Mankey let's go!"

"Beedrill I choose you!"

The two pokémon launched onto the field, ready to fight. However, they were momentarily shocked when they realized that they would have to battle each other. Fay started off by ordering the pig monkey to use low kick, while beedrill dodged and used pin missile. As mankey landed on the ground, a little damaged from missing the attack, it then leapt up again, this time not willing to miss, and landed a karate chop as beedrill struck it with one of its stingers.

Both pokémon fell to the ground, but mankey was quicker when it rushed again at beedrill and used karate chop, only to be swapper away by beedrill's left stinger. The poison bee pokémon then unleashed a pin missile towards mankey. It successfully landed, but the pig monkey wouldn't give up, and jumped at beedrill once more, throwing a barrage of karate chops and low kicks to subdue the giant bee. Beedrill, however, only needed to strike it once more with poison sting before shooting it down into the ground, ultimately defeating it.

"Mankey is unable to battle, beedrill is the winner. Fay will now send out his second pokémon."

"Charmander, let's go!" he yelled, sending out his fire type lizard. "Let's use ember!"

"Beedrill, dodge and use poison sting!" the poison bee pokémon moved out of the direction of the fire attack, but as it was swooping down to pierce charmander with its stinger, it got hit with a powerful slap to the face as it landed its poison sting attack.

Beedrill fell to the ground as charmander's claws started to glow. It seemed to be learning a new move.

"Charmander, use slash!"

"Chaaaar!" the fire type screamed as it defeated beedrill with its newfound technique.

"Beedrill is unable to battle, charmander wins! Jeremy will now use his second pokémon."

"Eevee, I'm counting on you!" JJ bellowed as he sent out the evolution pokémon. "Use sand attack! And follow up with dig!"

Eevee then kicked up some dust on the battlefield, disguising itself in the process. Fay then commanded charmander to use multiple embers in eevee's direction, but to no avail. The dust settled, only to reveal one small hole in the middle of the field. Charmander then used ember once more, aiming at the hole eevee went into. However, just as shot its first attack, it felt eevee slam into it from directly below it. Both pokémon fell onto the ground, eevee getting up faster as it tackled the fire lizard. As the attack connected, charmander used slash across eevee's left side, knocking the evolution pokémon tumbling across the field. It then proceeded to use ember once more, only to fail when eevee quickly used sand attack to defend itself.

Thinking that this battle could only be won in close combat, Fay directed charmander to use slash repeatedly at eevee, before it could use dig again. Charmander obeyed, and rushed at the fox-like pokémon, ultimately defeating it after a few consecutive slashes.

"Eevee is unable to battle, charmander wins. The victory goes to Fay from Pallet Town!"

Fay and JJ shook hands and walked back into the stadium to sit with Niko and Brittany, who had been eagerly watching the match. Niko was the last to go this time, now facing off against a trainer from Viridian City.

"The final match of the day will be between Niko of Pallet Town and Wilbur of Viridian City! You may both begin!"

"Pidgey, I choose you!"

"Psyduck, come on out!" Wilbur exclaimed, sending out a yellow duck-like pokémon. "Let's use confusion!"

"Dodge, and use quick attack!" the tiny bird tried to dodge confusion, but that proved to be surprisingly difficult, seeing as the attack didn't have any particular direction. Pidgey found itself caught in the psychic attack, and was promptly thrown onto the ground. Getting up, psyduck then used disable, freezing the bird in its tracks. It then used confusion once more, tossing pidgey around like a rag doll. "C'mon, you have to fight it pidgey! Use gust!"

Pidgey attempted to flap its wing fast enough to generate a gust of wind. It took some time (and a few more confusion attacks), but it eventually succeeded in throwing psyduck off of its feet. By this time, Niko had hoped the disable had worn off, and commanded his pokémon to use quick attack. Disable had indeed worn off, and pidgey shot like a bullet towards its opponent, slamming it into the ground and defeating it.

"Psyduck is unable to battle, pidgey wins! Wilbur will now send out his second pokémon."

"Poliwag, I choose you!" the Viridian native exclaimed again, now sending out a pokémon that resembled a tadpole. Niko eyed the pokémon for a moment, wondering if he recognized it from somewhere. Turns out he did—his father had briefly owned one while they were living in Vermillion City, as part of a research paper he was writing on poliwag and its evolutionary process. Niko got along well with that particular poliwag.

"Alright pidgey, don't hold back! Use quick attack!"

"Wait for it, poliwag…" Wilbur said quietly, waiting for the attack. "Now, water gun!"

This was a similar strategy to Misty's in their previous gym battle, and so Niko came prepared. He commanded pidgey to dodge the attack and then repeat with the former move. The tiny bird pokémon then slammed into poliwag, knocking it off balance and onto its tail.

But the tadpole pokémon was resilient. It got up and used hypnosis on pidgey, causing the bird to crash into the ground, fast asleep.

"Now poliwag, use water gun!" Wilbur commanded, and his pokémon finished off pidgey with a single burst of water, knocking it out.

"Pidgey is unable to battle, poliwag is the winner! Niko may now choose his second pokémon."

"Hmm…alright then. Abra, come on out!"

"An abra…?" Brittany wondered, "why would be use that pokémon? It doesn't know any moves…"

"You'd be surprised," Fay replied, "Niko and pidgey had a surprisingly difficult time catching abra. Its agility makes up for its lack of a move set. Plus, strategically teleport could be useful in a battle, if you think about it."

Wilbur commanded poliwag to use hypnosis, only to cause abra to teleport away just in time. The crowd started looking around, wondering where the psi pokémon had gone. Suddenly Niko yelled out for abra, who reappeared behind poliwag and side-kicked it in the back, thrusting the tadpole pokémon forward. Abra then teleported again and reappeared in midair, about to slam into poliwag when the latter got up and used hypnosis. Abra now crashed into the ground, sound asleep.

"Abra! You have to wake up!" Niko said and poliwag proceeded to whack the psi pokémon repeatedly with its tail. After a couple of minutes, abra began to notice what was happening, and quickly woke up, grabbing poliwag's tail and tossing it over in Wilbur's direction. It then disappeared, and as poliwag was about to get up, abra reappeared and repeated the attack that ultimately put it to sleep. It reappeared in midair and slammed its foot onto poliwag, and knocking it out.

"Poliwag is unable to battle, abra is the winner! And the victory goes to—what?" the announcer said as abra began to glow. "Wha-what…well look at this, folks! Niko's abra is evolving!"

The glowing psi pokémon suddenly got about a foot taller in height, but much longer in width. A large tail also erupted from its tailbone. Niko pulled out his pokédex:

" _Kadabra, the psi pokémon. Many odd things happen if this pokémon is close by. For example, it makes clocks run backwards._ "

"Wow…kadabra…" Niko said quietly, eying his new pokémon. Kadabra then looked over at its trainer and ran towards it, enveloping it in a hug. Well…not really. By "hug" kadabra really meant picking Niko up with the spoon in its hand and slamming the trainer into his pokémon.

Niko walked over to the edge of the ship to meet with his friends. They all congratulated him on making it to the quarter finals alongside Fay, and got a chance to meet kadabra. The four then decided to head off to have a quick meal before partaking in some of the cruise's pokémon bonding activities.

One of these was a trust fall. It was difficult for most of the trainers to do, in fact, but it somehow worked out. Fay chose mankey, out of fear that it might touch charmander's tail and magikarp couldn't for obvious reasons; Niko chose kadabra, and instructed it to not use any of its psychic powers; JJ chose beedrill, also warning it to not use its poison sting on accident; and Brittany chose squirtle, since it was her only pokémon. For the group, who appeared reluctant to participate at first, ended up truly enjoying the activity.

Later on, they watched as JJ tried to compete in a food eating contest alongside Fay's charmander, who was constantly asking for more food on their journeys. They placed second, behind a much older (and heftier) man who was competing with his poliwrath. However, neither JJ nor charmander wanted to even look at food after that, and instead retired to their room for a couple hours until the nightly performance kicked off. During the event, Fay and Niko were talking with Brittany about the day's events, and whether or not JJ was doing fine. Brittany seemed worried, but Fay assured her that he used to do this regularly when they were all in school.

"So you all grew up together, right?" she asked.

"Yeah, Fay and I were classmates since we were…I'd say 9 or 10. JJ went to another school in Pallet, although it was a little smaller. But we all hung out often when we lived there."

"Indeed. Niko and I had been planning on travelling together for months before we actually left. JJ decided to join us literally as we were leaving. But neither of us regret bringing him along."

"He absolutely loves it. As do we."

"Say, Brittany," Fay said a couple minutes later, "We have something that we want to ask you…"

"Uhh…what is it?" the brunette replied, seeming a little caught off guard by the approach.

"We wanted to see if…" Niko started, clearly a little nervous, "If you wanted to accompany us on our journey."

While their question seemed obvious to the boys, Brittany was not expecting it. She looked down at her food for a moment, deep in thought.

"Well, thank you for the offer, but I don't think I will," she said, frowning slightly as if she was afraid of the boy's response. "You see, I'm not ready to just go out and travel with complete strangers. First off, I don't think my parents would like that too much, and second, I haven't gone out in the world very much. I've lived in Vermilion city my whole life, I'm scared to leave that. I hope you understand."

Niko and Fay looked at each other and smiled. "Of course we understand. Listen, we didn't expect you to say yes. It's completely up to you," Fay reassured the brunette, who returned with a smile. "Let's just enjoy the rest of the cruise, and if you have the time, we'd love for you to come to the Vermillion gym with us!"

"That would be awesome! Of course!" Brittany said excitedly.

As they finished talking, JJ stumbled over to their table, charmander trailing him. One would think that he had broken his leg, judging from the way he was limping over. "You alright bud?" Fay inquired, a little concerned but by no means surprised by the obvious exaggeration.

"Yeah…that food did a number on me. Not sure if I can even move," JJ responded, cautiously sitting down at the table. Niko and Brittany looked less concerned and now more amused by JJ's behavior.

The next day, they four reunited in the stands for the fourth day of the tournament. This time, there were only 8 trainers left, and four would walk away that day a quarterfinalists. The announcer then revealed the next pairs of battlers.

Fay and Niko would be facing each other.

The two friends turned to each other, each with a look of determination in their eyes. They would be the third match of the day, and so as they watched the others they began to contemplate potential strategies against the other. Eventually, it was their turn. They stood opposite one another, and when the announcer allowed them to start, it was on.

"Bulbasaur, let's go!"

"Come on out, mankey!"

The two immediately began exchanging attacks: a vine whip for a karate chop, tackle for a low kick. The two pokémon were on relatively similar levels with regards to their power, so it seemed like the match would last a while.

But then they heard a woman scream in the stands. And then another. And another. Turning their heads in the direction of the shriek, they saw two black figures rush out of sight as a woman lay on the ground, bawling loudly. The group ran over to see what happened. A bystander had gotten to her first.

"I…I just saw these men steal my purse…my precious pokémon are in that purse…" she said in between whimpers. A couple minutes later Officer Jenny arrived and promptly began asking the women questions, while Fay turned to the rest of the group.

"That was most likely Team Rocket. We need to find them and see what they're up to," Niko and JJ nodded. Brittany was reluctant.

"Team…Rocket? Aren't those the terrorists who disbanded years ago?"

"Apparently not. We've encountered them a couple times already. They're very much alive and well, it seems," Niko responded, gripping one of his pokéballs, "Let's split up. Brittany and I will take one side of the ship. Fay and JJ, you take the other."

"Good idea. See ya soon," Fay ran off, with a limping JJ struggling to keep up.

Niko and Brittany began running down the right side of the ship, keeping an eye out for any suspicious activity. During that time, Niko regaled his new friend about some of the other times they've had to fight the gang. She clearly seemed impressed by their ability to stand up to such a dangerous group of people, but Niko downplayed it, arguing that they were simply in the right place at the right time.

Eventually, they heard a noise in one of the rooms. Standing against the door, they heard two grunts talking, but barely. Something about a bomb and stealing pokémon before the bomb set off. Niko and Brittany looked at each, nodded, and began searching for the captain's office.

* * *

Meanwhile, JJ and Fay immediately found some Team Rocket grunts stealing some food from a nearby food stand. Catching their attention, they commanded charmander and beedrill to attack. The grunts responded by sending out pokémon of their own—zubats.

"Charmander, use ember on the zubats!"

"Beedrill, let's use pin missile!"

The attacks collided with the bat pokémon, who then responded with a supersonic, confusing both their opponents and the trainers. The grunts then responded with wing attack, knocking both pokémon onto their backs. They then proceeded to attack the trainers. Fay and JJ quickly walked back to the edge of the ship, but they were cornered, as two more grunts showed up to aid their comrades.

They all commanded their zubats to attack the two trainers, knocking them overboard and into the water below. As they shot underwater, Fay's magikarp popped out of its ball to help carry its trainer up to the surface. As it did, however, it began glowing and exponentially increasing, large enough for both Fay and JJ to grab on. The three finally reached the surface. As they were gasping for air, they looked at Fay's pokémon, who was evidently no longer magikarp. JJ pulled out his now wet pokédex, which was surprisingly still working.

" _Gyarados, the atrocious pokémon. Rarely seen in the wild. Huge and vicious, it is capable of destroying entire cities in a rage._ "

"Holy shit Fay…" JJ said, looking up at gyarados, who was looking at the two trainers sitting on its back.

"Yeah…holy shit is right…" Fay responded, astounded by the evolution of a pokémon he got in a lame trade. "Alright gyarados, let's show these grunts what's really up. Use…uh…water gun?"

As he ordered his command, gyarados launched a burst of water at the zubat and the grunts, who fell backwards in what became a large puddle of water. Fay and JJ jumped off of gyarados and back onto the ship, running over to see if their other pokémon were okay. Noting that they indeed were, they turned to the grunts.

"It doesn't matter what you do to us, there is a bomb in the engine room that is set to blow in…oh! Five minutes! And by that time, we'll be safely off of this doomed ship."

"JJ, we need to warn the captain of this. Can you go find him?" JJ nodded as Fay, charmander, and gyarados all stared the grunts down. "Let's finish this, charmander use ember! Gyarados, water gun!"

* * *

Niko and Brittany finally found the captain's room, but just as they felt the ship shake a little. Choosing to ignore it, they ran to the room to warn him of a potential bomb threat, only to find that it was empty.

"Where did he go…?" Niko wondered, scratching a tuft of brown hair atop his head. Brittany shrugged concernedly, also trying to ponder the situation.

"Maybe he already knows. After all, wouldn't authorities like Officer Jenny alert him—or someone—about this as soon as is happened?"

"That's probably true, actually. Let's go back down to the battlefield and see if he's there."

Turns out he wasn't, but they didn't know that at the time, since they ran into JJ as they were running down the stairs. Nearly bumping into him a second time, Brittany quickly apologized while Niko asked what he was doing.

"So Fay and I found some members of Team Rocket, started fighting them, magikarp evolved, now Fay's taking on four—I think—grunts right now…bomb in engine room…five minutes…no, maybe like three now…"

"Where is the engine room?" Niko demanded.

"Probably at the bottom of the ship. Isn't that where those things usually are, so they're not exposed?" Niko and JJ nodded, and the three rushed down the stairs.

As they got there, they noticed a pair of rocket grunts sitting there, guarding the door to the engine room. Niko caught them off guard by commanding kadabra to use confusion, and therefore sending them headfirst into some nearby pipes. Brittany and JJ went back to the main floor to search for the captain as Niko tried to locate the bomb.

It wasn't terribly difficult to find, since it was a little steel box making a "beeping" sound in the back of the room. Niko cautiously walked over, afraid that there might other explosives in the room. Making it safely to the bomb, he eyed it for a couple moments to see how he might go about stopping it. As he was about to pick it up, an old man yelled for him to stop. The trainer turned around, seeing JJ, Brittany, and a man who looked to be the captain. Behind him was the S.S. Anne's head engineer, who had attended the cruise on maintenance duty.

"Wait son, let an expert fix this!" the captain said, holding his stomach as if he were about to lose his lunch from the viciously moving ship. The engineer walked past Niko, examined the bomb, and pulled out a toolkit to dismantle it. As the bomb counted down to the final ten seconds, it stopped ticking. "Excellent work Martin! You saved our lives!"

"Thank you captain, but it wouldn't have been for these kids who warned us of the bomb," the engineer named Martin said, walking out of the room. The captain, JJ, Niko, and Brittany followed.

* * *

Meanwhile, charmander and gyarados were locked in a battle with some zubats when their friends arrived to tell them the news about the bomb.

"Fay! Fay!" JJ yelled out as he ran over to his friend. "The bomb has been defused! We're safe!"

"WHAT!?" The grunts screamed in shock. "But…we had guards at the door."

"Well they did a real nice job," Niko said sarcastically. "They really should have kept a better eye on the room with a bomb!"

"You'll…you'll pay for this!" the grunt yelled back as security took them away. "Team Rocket will rise again…!"

The captain turned to the young trainers after briefly speaking with Officer Jenny. "Kids…thank you all so much. We don't know how we will repay you."

"We were happy to help. After all, we would have died, too!" JJ exclaimed. The captain nodded, and explained that by the time the cruise was over, they would find a way to repay them for their efforts, and walked off to check on the rest of the passengers.

Heading to the performance hall, they noticed most of the other passengers sitting at tables, quietly eating food. It was clear that the bomb threat had reached their ears, and many of them seemed on edge. This surely wouldn't look good for the owners of the ship. Disregarding those details, the group sat down and had lunch, exhausted from the day.


	16. Episode 16: Ten-hut, Raichu!

**Episode 16: Ten-hut, Raichu!**

The tournament was cancelled for the rest of the cruise, but the group found other ways to enjoy their spare time. They would get into random other matches with trainers, with the occasional rematch with someone from the tournament. Most importantly, though, was the time they spent bonding with their pokémon and getting to know Brittany more. The four became much closer on that cruise as the days went by. When they ship landed back in Vermillion City, Niko and Fay were both eager to challenge Lt. Surge for their third gym badge.

Walking off the ship with Brittany, who had recently decided to watch their gym battle with JJ, the four headed immediately towards the gym, which was just down the road from the port, luckily enough.

The Vermillion Gym looked more like a military base then a pokémon gym. Passing through the automatic sliding glass doors, the four looked around to see only a hallway in front of them. There were collections of different colored wires hung all throughout the ceiling, all emitting small sparks of electricity. They neared the end of the hallway when another set of sliding doors opened for them, revealing a very standard battlefield in front. The only difference was a collection of large unlit light blue lamps lining the sides of the field. JJ was the first to say something. "Hello? Is anyone home?"

A moment later the lamps turned on sequentially, revealing an absurdly large man on the other end of the battlefield. He looked up, the dark lenses of his aviators glaring at them.

"Hello young trainers!" every word sounding like a miniature explosion, "I am Lieutenant Surge. Have you come to challenge my gym?"

Fay and Niko stepped forward, the former speaking first. "Yes, sir, both of us."

"Excellent! This will be a three on three pokémon battle! Whenever you are ready, the first of you may step forward and face me!" The two decided that Niko should go first this time, since Fay went first at the Cerulean gym. "What is your name, young trainer?"

"I am Niko from Pallet Town," the gym leader the nodded, indicating that the battle was about to begin. He threw out a pokéball containing, well, another pokéball, only this one had eyes. Niko responded with pidgey.

"A pidgey, eh?" Lt. Surge noted, "Interesting choice. Foolish, but interesting. Voltorb, use sonic-boom!"

The pokéball then began rotating at a high speed until a sonic wave erupted from its body. Pidgey tried to dodge, but the attack hit it too quickly, knocking the tiny bird pokémon back onto the ground.

"Now use thunder-shock!"

Voltorb again spun around quickly, this time emitting electric sparks aimed at pidgey. The attack landed again, causing the bird pokémon to spaz for a moment. Niko then quickly commanded it to use quick attack, only to be met but another sonic boom to the head, once again knocking it down.

"Thunder-shock again!" this was enough to finish pidgey off.

"Pidgey is unable to battle," the judge near the stands said, "Voltorb is the winner!"

"Return, pidgey. You did just fine," Niko said, now concerned that he might not be able to beat Surge. Even though pidgey has a disadvantage against electric types, that shouldn't have been enough to beat them. Pidgey was a capable fighter. Apparently voltorb and Surge were more capable. "Go, kadabra! Let's use confusion!"

Kadabra leapt out of its pokéball and immediately shot a wave of psychic energy at its opponent, who deflected it using sonic boom. "Now teleport!" the psi pokémon then removed itself from the battlefield, dodging the incoming sonic boom, and reappearing behind voltorb. "Use confusion to lift it into the air and toss it around!" kadabra obeyed its trainer, using its spoon to lift up the electric pokémon and toss it around the field, eventually causing it to collide with one of the lamps on the side.

"Voltorb use thundershock!"

"Confusion!" with its spoon, the psi pokémon halted the electric attack in midair. "Now, launch it back at voltorb!" The attack landed, but it had been one of the few attacks to actually hit it thus far. Niko needed more than just a confusion and thundershock to win.

"Use sonic boom!" As voltorb was spinning rapidly to prepare its attack, Niko finally saw and opening.

"Kadabra, stop it with confusion!" Niko commanded. His pokémon waved it spoon slightly to get a psychic grip on its opponent, halting it in its tracks. The energy it was charging up for its attack, not having anywhere else to go, suddenly turned on its creator. Voltorb exploded.

"Voltorb is unable to battle. Lt. Surge will now send out his second pokémon."

"Nice job, kid. However, you still have a long ways to go. Come on out, pikachu!" the gym leader roared, sending out a tiny yellow mouse to replace his first pokémon. "Let's use quick attack!"

"Halt it in its tracks, Kadabra! Use confusion!"

Indeed the psi pokémon did stop the electric mouse pokémon, albeit momentarily, since pikachu was commanded to then use thunderbolt and broke through the confusion attack. Taking the hit, kadabra stepped back for a moment to collect itself before once again facing its opponent.

"Kadabra, teleport!" Niko used the same strategy against voltorb, now reappearing behind pikachu and using confusion. However, Lt. Surge saw the attack coming, and instructed pikachu to use quick attack behind it. Both pokémon collided, the challenger falling to the ground as its opponent used thunderbolt again, nearly finishing it off.

"For two pokémon that don't normally have a lot of endurance, these two sure seem to," Fay noticed from the stands as kadabra got back up and used teleport to remove itself from the situation. Niko then directed it to use confusion once more, but pikachu got the best of it and slammed into its midsection, again knocking it over.

"Now! Use confusion!" Niko quickly screamed as pikachu landed its attack. Kadabra swung its spoon vigorously to the left, launching the electric mouse into one of the lamps, knocking it to the ground and out of the match.

"Pikachu is unable to battle. Lt. Surge will now send out his final pokémon!"

"That kadabra of yours is good, kid. But not good enough. Raichu! Ten-hut!" JJ pulled out his pokédex:

" _Raichu, the mouse pokémon. Its long tail serves as a ground to protect itself from its own high voltage power._ "

"That's right, this is my strongest pokémon—Raichu. This guy and I have fought in war and peace together. If you can beat it then you deserve the badge. But I don't think you can beat us."

"We'll see about that. Kadabra, let's use confusion!"

"Stop it with a thunder-bolt!" Surge roared. His pokémon then emitted a surprisingly large amount of electric energy directly at kadabra, breaking through the confusion attack and striking the psi pokémon. Again, surprisingly enough, kadabra stood up once more. "Heh…you're pokémon is strong. I'll give it that. Raichu, use quick attack and put it out of its misery!"

"Stop with confusion! You can do this kadabra. I believe in you!"

"Kadaaaabraaaa!" the psi pokémon screamed out loud, once again moving its spoon around to halt the mouse pokémon. The attack hit, but raichu was faster. The attacks—and the pokémon—collided. Only raichu made it out.

"Kadabra is unable to battle, raichu wins! Niko may now send out his final pokémon."

"You did amazing kadabra. I'm very proud of you," Niko said quietly as he returned his psychic type. "You're all I have left, let's go bulbasaur!" Niko threw out his third pokéball, unleashing the seed pokémon. "Let's start off with stun spore!"

"Thunder-bolt!" Surge commanded, as the mouse pokémon eliminated the spores with the electric shock attack.

"Dammit…" Niko said, scratching his chin now, hoping to find an answer. Stun spore seemed like a good way to start, but he kept underestimating the sheer speed of raichu.

"Don't hesi-tate, Niko, or else you'll get hurt! Rai-chu use quick attack!" the mouse pokémon rushed at bulbasaur before it could react. "And again!" raichu repeated the attack, hitting the seed pokémon once more.

Noticing how the lamps didn't seem to emit electricity from their stands, Niko came up with an idea. "Bulbasaur, let's build momentum again! Use vine whip to grab the lamp stand!"

"Ah, I see what you're doing. Rai-chu use thunderwave to paralyze it!"

Bulbasaur got out of the way as soon as the thunderwave hit the ground that the seed pokémon was previously standing on. Its opponent then leapt over to the lamp.

"Now swing around and grab another lamp…and another!" Niko kept commanding, hoping to replicate the fight with Brock here, now in an attempt to counter raichu's speed. Eventually it was swinging fast enough that it was leaping across the field, dodging thunderbolt after thunderbolt.

"Hmm…raichu use thunderbolt on the lamps!" Lt. Surge commanded as his mouse pokémon then redirected its attacks towards the lamps in an attempt to electrify them and shock bulbasaur. As raichu aimed at the same lamp the seed pokémon was jumping towards, Niko ordered his grass type to turn back around and go back to the same lamp. Bulbasaur did as told, and swung full circle around the lamp until Niko commanded it to then launch itself at raichu. As it got close, Niko commanded a stun spore up close.

"Thunderbolt raichu!" Lt. Surge directed, but bulbasaur was close that both attacks landed—bulbasaur taking damage and raichu getting stunned.

Both pokémon fell to the ground, but bulbasaur could move more freely than its opponent. It then launched a barrage of attacks at raichu to further subdue it. Eventually, despite taking a couple more thunderbolts, raichu was able to fall.

"Raichu is unable to battle, bulbasaur wins, and the victory goes to Niko from Pallet Town!"

Pumping his fist a little, Niko ran up to bulbasaur and hugged it as Fay took his place on the battlefield and Lt. Surge went to go heal his pokémon for the next fight. Walking back into the stands, Niko and bulbasaur accepted praise from JJ and Brittany while they waited for the next battle to start.

"Niko that was excellent, I haven't seen such an exciting battle before!" Brittany mentioned as she patted him on the back.

"Well, you haven't seen Fay fight yet. He gets pretty fired up in gym matches," Niko said in praise. JJ nodded in agreement.

"Al-right kid!" Lt. Surge bellowed across the field. "What is your name!?"

"I am Fay from Pallet Town, sir!" the trainer responded.

"Ex-cell-ent!" the gym leader roared. "Let's go pikachu!"

"Charmander, come on out!" Fay commanded. "Let's start off with a slash!"

"Quick attack to dodge!" Lt. Surge directed.

Charmander took the quick attack to the side and slapped pikachu with his tail in retaliation. The mouse pokémon stepped backwards in pain from touching the fire and charmander immediately followed up with another slash attack. Both pokémon proceeded to launch a fury of thunderbolts and embers at one another, dodging every other attack or so, until the two were exhausted enough.

"Alright charmander, let's finish pikachu off! Use ember one last time!"

"Quick attack to dodge it pikachu!" Lt. Surge commanded. The electric mouse pokémon moved away from the tiny flames coming at it, and shot like a rocket towards its opponent. As it slammed into the lizard pokémon, the latter unleashed a flurry of ember attacks. Both pokémon fell to the ground after that.

"Both charmander and pikachu are unable to battle. Each trainer may now send out their second pokémon."

"Mankey, come on out!" Fay commanded. It was clear that he didn't want to use gyarados, due to its massive disadvantage against electric types. If mankey were to fall, Fay would be put into a tight corner. The rest of the group discussed this in the stands, wondering if Fay was trying to avoid using gyarados. They seemed to think of it as plausible, and continued to watch the match unfold.

"Voltorb, I choose you!" Lt. Surge yelled, throwing out the pokéball-like creature. "Let's start off with a sonic-boom!"

"Dodge it mankey! Let's get up close! Use karate chop!"

The pig monkey pokémon quickly moved out of the line of fire as the sonicboom hit the ground behind it, kicking up a cloud of dust as a result. It then ran forward, landing a karate chop on the electric pokémon. It followed up with a low kick to the side, sending voltorb rolling down the battlefield. Again it leapt into the air and came slamming down onto the electric pokémon who hadn't had ample time to retaliate.

Eventually it got its chance, however. As mankey was about to kick it once more, voltorb sent a thundershock in its direction, halting the pig monkey in its tracks. It then sent a close-range sonicboom at the fighting type, knocking it into the opposite end of the field, crashing into a lamp and toppling it over.

"Alright mankey, return. Let's go, gyarados!" the group's assumption that Fay was reluctant to use his atrocious pokémon were proven false as the sea dragon burst onto the field, terrifying voltorb.

"Voltorb we can beat this! You are fast! Now let's subdue this beast with thundershock!"

"Counter with water gun!" Fay commanded.

The two attacks exploded in midair as water and electricity reacted with one another. Gyarados then lowered its head as it tried once again to use water gun, but this time it collided with a sonicboom.

"Gyarados use your size1 Whack voltorb with your tail!" the atrocious pokémon then spun around, slamming voltorb with its tail and sending it straight into the wall.

"Voltorb is unable to battle, gyarados wins. Lt. Surge will now send out his final pokémon!"

"Raichu, ten-hut!" the gym leader commanded, sending out his final—and most powerful—pokémon. "Use thunderbolt!"

Before the attack launched, however, Fay returned gyarados, substituting it for mankey once more. As the pig monkey hit the field, however, a bolt of electricity came storming towards it. "Dodge, mankey! Let's match speed with speed! Use low kick!"

The pig monkey rushed forward for raichu and, as it got close, leapt through the air like a trapeze artist and slammed its foot onto raichu's head, only to be met with a thunderbolt. Fay's pokémon yelped in pain as it fell to the ground on its back. Raichu then jumped into the air and slammed its tail onto the fighting type, keeping it low to the ground.

"Raichu use thunderbolt one more time! Let's finish it off!" the gym leader commanded. However, as raichu was about to release its attack, Fay ordered mankey to kick dust up into the air by waving its arms and legs wildly on the ground. The power of the thunderbolt didn't seem to diminish much from the dust, and nearly defeated mankey.

Since the pig monkey was on the ground, it flipped over onto its stomach and spun around, kicking raichu at its feet and knocking it over. Fay then directed it to use karate chop on the mouse pokémon's stomach. As it did so, the lieutenant commanded one final thunderbolt.

Both pokémon fainted.

"Raichu and mankey are unable to battle. Since Fay still has one remaining pokémon, he is the winner of this gym match!"

"Oh my god…" JJ said, realizing that avoiding using gyarados actually worked. By using the atrocious pokémon's size against Lt. Surge's smaller pokémon, he managed to keep it around long enough to stall for mankey, so that the latter could regain some strength to fight raichu. And it all seemed to pay off.

"Fay that was an excellent match. You have ab-so-lutely earned the thunder badge. Same goes for you too, Niko," Lt. Surge said as the latter trainer walked up to congratulate his friend and also receive his sun-shaped badge.

"Great job you two! Those were really engaging fights!" Brittany mentioned as she ran up to them, squirtle sitting in her arms, since he wanted to watch the fights, too. JJ said the same, also cradling his orange and red egg.

"Thanks, guys, it was a fun match," Niko said, turning to Lt. Surge to shake his hand. "Thank you again for the match, sir."

"No pro-blem, kid!" the gym leader roared in response.

Leaving the gym, the four trainers headed off to the pokémon center to heal up their companions and get something to eat. There, they would decide on where to head next as the sun was setting on the port city of Vermilion.


	17. Episode 17: Diglett and Dugtrio!

**Episode 17: Diglett and Dugtrio!**

The group—plus Brittany—spent the evening in the pokémon center healing up their pokémon in the aftermath of the Vermilion city gym battle against Lt. Surge. Sitting down at a corner booth with their food, they again looked at the map of the region to determine where to go next.

"So…" JJ said while chewing a burger, "We have a couple of options. There's Saffron City, Celadon City, and Fuchsia City. All three have gyms."

"Alright, which is the closest, besides Saffron?" Niko inquired.

"It's Celadon City, with is just west of Saffron," JJ responded, finishing his food, "The gym leader there uses grass types, which is advantageous to both of you, actually.

"Well, then let's head there!" Fay said as if he was moving forward a motion.

"There's a problem, though," Fay and Niko both looked at their friend. "We would have to go through Saffron City to get there."

At this point, Brittany piped in, hoping to solve their conundrum. "Why don't we head to Lavender Town first? Maybe by the time we get there Saffron will have re-opened. It's far enough away that it will give us some time before the city reopens, and plus we get to see more of the region. I've heard that Lavender Town is pretty cool, in a creepy sort of way."

The three boys hardly heard what she said besides the word "we." Confused, they all turned to her, as if tacitly demanding an answer.

"What…?" the brunette said with a mixture of curiosity and concern.

"You said 'we'…what did you mean by that?" Niko asked.

"Oh! I guess I forgot to tell you guys. I would like to join you three!" Brittany said, stunning her new travelling partners.

"Wait…what changed your mind?" Niko wondered, cocking his head to the side in the same way a confused dog would.

"Well, after seeing you and Fay battle, I wanted to see more. You're both great trainers, and I want to see you both go far. So in order to keep watching you guys, I decided that it was best to join you three."

"Don't you have to clear it with your parents?" Fay asked.

"Yeah, while I was in the bathroom earlier I called them. They would like to meet you three tomorrow morning, just to make sure you're not serial killers. But otherwise they seemed okay with it. I guess they figured that I'm old enough, since a lot of trainers leave at a much younger age than I do."

"We're really glad you want to join us, Brittany," Niko smiled warmly at their new friend. "Hey, guys!" Niko said to his pokémon, who were sitting on the ground eating dinner as well, "Brittany and squirtle are joining us!" All of the pokémon cheered as they welcomed their new friend squirtle, patting the tiny turtle on the back.

The following morning the four trainers left the pokémon center and journeyed to Brittany's house. She lived on the west side of the city, along the water, with her parents and older brother. Brittany's home was a traditional two-story townhouse with a small garden in front near a white wooden porch. It was by all means an ordinary abode. Walking inside, the group was immediately met with a set of stairs with a living room on the left and a library on the right that led to a kitchen in the back. They assumed someone would be there, and headed in that direction.

"Mom, Dad, I'm home!" she yelled out. She had previously spent the night there, but had gone back to the pokémon center to escort her new travelling companions through a relatively large city. As they entered the kitchen, they saw an older man with a bushy mustache cooking on a stove as a woman cut up some other food. They both looked over at their daughter and her friends.

"Welcome back, Brittany. These must be your friends?" the woman said, pulling off a glove to shake JJ, Niko, and Fay's hands as they each introduced themselves. "I'm Thelma, pleasure to meet you all."

"Same to uh you," JJ said, looking over at the stove, "what's cooking?"

"Oh, just some bacon. Nothing fancy," he said, looking over at JJ, "I'm Robert by the way, Brittany's Dad," JJ went in to shake his hand before realizing that he probably shouldn't (or couldn't), since Robert was busy cooking.

The group sat down at the table as Thelma and Robert finished cooking. The couple then sat down, placing some plates in the middle of the table for everyone to take from. As they were eating, the parents asked the three boys about their journey so far—their purpose, any dangers they've encountered, and what kinds of pokémon they've caught. They seemed pleasantly surprised to hear about the gym challenge in particular.

"Our son went off on his adventure when he was 10. He challenged all of the gyms and competed in the pokémon league. He did alright, placed top 8 I think…" Thelma mentioned, with Robert nodding in confirmation.

"He's a gifted battler. He isn't here right now, actually. He's off on the Sevii Islands doing some training. Just left a couple days ago, actually."

"Anyways," Thelma said after a couple moments of silence, "Brittany says that she wants to travel with you," the boys nodded. "Well, Rob and I are normally fine with that, but we have concerns about Team Rocket. They haven't been very active until recently, and the whole shutdown of Saffron City worries us. We don't want our daughter to get hurt."

"We completely understand," Fay responded, "But you don't have to worry. All three of us are constantly training our pokémon, and we haven't had a bad run in with Team Rocket yet, as a matter of fact."

"Fay," Robert began, "You don't know Team Rocket. They aren't sending their best grunts at you. The kinds of things you described to us about them are the easy missions. Stealing a rock…anyone can do that. Putting a bomb on a cruise ship is much harder, but don't ever underestimate them. Trust me."

"Robert used to be a cop, actually. He's dealt with Team Rocket and gangs like them before," Thelma mentioned. Fay nodded with a mute "ah," in response.

"Anyways, before we say anything regarding Brittany travelling with you, we would like to ask for your help," Robert said, putting down his fork for a moment. The three boys looked up at him curiously. Even Brittany seemed a little perplexed. "We are having a gardening issue in our backyard. Some pokémon keeps digging holes in the ground, which as you can imagine is difficult for us to do our job. We think it's the pokémon diglett. There's a cave just east of the city that is the home to diglett and its evolved form, dugtrio. Do you think you boys could go catch a diglett for us, so that we can better understand how they're conspiring against our garden?"

"The request made no sense to the four trainers, but Fay and Niko nodded in confirmation that they would indeed give it a try. Robert smiled, telling them that they had until midday to get them a diglett. Brittany would remain at home while they went and completed the task, as would JJ's pokémon egg.

Diglett's cave was, as Robert said, just east of the city. Which essentially meant the group would have to cross the entire city to get there. It took close to half an hour before they reached the entrance to the cave. Looking in, they noticed the path into the cave was a direct drop downwards, going down for what seemed like a mile.

"Um…" Niko, who was afraid of heights, said, "How do we get down…?"

"Probably by using that ladder over there," Fay responded, pointing to a ladder on the other side of the hole. Niko laughed nervously as they made their way over to the ladder. After a couple of minutes, they reached the bottom, with Fay ordering charmander to help light their way through the tunnel.

"So we uh just need to catch a diglett, right?" JJ inquired.

"Seems like it. Not sure how difficult that will be. Never seen a diglett in real life," Fay responded.

"My Dad talked about them a few times when we lived here. They're surprisingly difficult to catch," Niko mentioned, looking around at the myriad of different-sized holes lining the tunnel.

"That must mean they're stupidly hard to catch then…" Fay responded again, looking a little concerned.

"Say, do you think they're just testing us, and that they really don't need a diglett?" Niko wondered.

"I'm quite sure that's the case actually. Their story didn't seem to make a lot of sense. If they are testing us they're doing a damn poor job of hiding it."

After a while of walking they finally encountered a diglett munching on some sort of plant. The three of them all pulling out pokéballs, but Fay cautioned them to wait. They should only use one to capture diglett. Three would overwhelm it. Regardless, JJ sent out beedrill after Fay had chosen mankey.

"Beedrill use pin missile!" the trainer commanded. The poison bee pokémon launched a barrage of green missiles at the diglett, who responded by, well, digging into the ground. Instead of retaliating against beedrill or mankey, it came back, this time with two other digletts and what seemed to be a dugtrio. All of them used dig at the same time, this time aimed at charmander and mankey. The dugtrio managed to hit beedrill. All three pokémon fell to the ground as Niko then commanded pidgey to come out and use gust. Since the light was dim, making it hard to see their opponents, the gust worked better than most of the other attacks due to its wider range of effect.

The gust managed to hit the diglett, but not the dugtrio, which is when JJ, Niko, and Fay all decided to throw pokéballs at the same time. However, the digletts responded by ducking and attempting to escape by using dig. For one of them, it worked. The other two went into the pokéball, but both came back down and used dig again on mankey and charmander. Niko then sent out kadabra, who used confusion to halt them in their tracks long enough for all three trainers to throw out pokéballs again.

Once again, this failed, now due to dugtrio interfering with the confusion by using dig on kadabra, knocking it backwards in Niko's direction and disrupting the confusion. All three digletts managed to escape the pokéballs this time.

"Are you _kidding me_!?" Niko yelled out in frustration. He then commanded kadabra to use confusion on dugtrio, who responded with a dig and then an upper cutting slash attack, knocking out kadabra. "Bulbasaur, come on out! Use vine whip!" This attack managed to halt the dugtrio as bulbasaur grabbed onto the mole pokémon with its green vines, halting it in its tracks. Fay and JJ took the cue, asking their pokémon to use ember, low kick, and pin missile on the digletts. Seeming like they could catch them, all three threw out pokéballs, this time capturing all of them in the ball. They vibrated a few times, but were ultimately caught.

"I don't think he needs three of them but, hey, I guess it could work," JJ mentioned as they all left the cave and the dugtrio behind.

"You _all_ caught digletts?" Brittany asked in surprise as her friends returned. Nodding, the three boys walked in the hand Robert their caught digletts. He looked pleasantly surprised at all three of the caught pokémon.

"Well you three certainly completed my request, but alas, I don't actually need any digletts."

"You just wanted to test us…" Fay responded with Robert's nod of approval.

"Indeed. You can do whatever you please with those digletts now. And Brittany can join you on your journey. We spent the past couple of hours helping her pack up."

"Wow! Thanks sir!" Niko said excitedly, turning to high-five their new companion.

"And please boys, take good care of her. She hasn't travelled very far before…" Robert said cautiously.

"Daaad! I'll be fine! Squirtle and I can handle anything life throws at us," Brittany responded with a look of determination. Her father smiled, and escorted the four trainers out of the door.

Brittany finally said good bye to her parents before joining the rest of the group on their way back to Diglett's cave. There Niko, JJ, and Fay released their digletts back into the tunnel to be reunited with dugtrio. It didn't seem fair to just outright take them from the mole pokémon. Exiting the entrance of the cave, the group of four walked off to their next destination—Lavender Town.


	18. Episode 18: The magnet and the egg!

**Episode 18: The magnet and the egg!**

After leaving Vermilion City, the group—now including their new friend, Brittany—journeyed towards Lavender Town as a way to get to Saffron City, so Niko and Fay could compete for their fourth gym badge. The way to Lavender Town was through routes 11 and 12, and according to JJ, who owned the map of Kanto, it would take a solid week to get there. A couple of days went by before anything of note happened in their group.

They were walking down a relatively empty road when Niko noticed something shiny off in the distance. As they approached it, they noticed that it looked like a tiny pokémon. Niko pulled out his pokédex to examine it:

" _Magnemite, the magnet pokémon. It is born with the ability to defy gravity. It floats in air on powerful electromagnetic waves._ "

"What the heck is a Magnemite doing out here, in the middle of the road?" Fay wondered, squatting down to get a better view of the little electric pokémon. "It looks smaller than most other magnemites, at least from what I've read about them," His view was short lived when he tried picking it up, only to be shocked by it on contact. The trainer immediately dropped the little pokémon again, this time startling it and causing it to emit more electric shocks.

"Looks like it might have been abandoned…" Brittany responded, also trying to pick the pokémon up. Even JJ tried, and got the same result. After seeing his three friends get electrified by Magnemite, Niko decided against it, but then began to wonder where it came from.

"Hey, magnemite," he began, "Where is your trainer?" he said in a soft voice. The magnet pokémon lowered its head, as if in shame to respond. After a moment, Niko began to piece together that it might not have a trainer, or if it did, it was definitely abandoned. "Did your trainer leave you?" again, the magnemite didn't necessarily respond, only continued to look at the ground. "Mind if we give you some food? You look hungry. You can stay with us until your trainer finds you, how about that?"

"Niko, that's too much to ask. Maybe it doesn't want any of that…" JJ cautioned. Instead, Niko ignored his friend and pulled out a small protein bar from his pocket and tried feeding a piece. Obviously, the magnet pokémon couldn't eat that, so Niko then reached over to a small bolt sitting on the ground a few feet away, and tried feeding that. It seemed to work, and magnemite looked up at it again, surprised at the gesture, but nonetheless happy. It floated a few feet into the air and, as the group continued on their way, followed them.

The group spent the night at the edge of a lake, allowing magnemite to join them and their pokémon for a meal. They gave the electric type some random pieces of metal they found while walking, and it seemed to respond happily, but only to Niko. As the group went to sleep, they noticed magnemite sleeping far enough away that it hardly seemed like it belonged to them.

In the middle of the night, however, they heard a rustling, and the crackle of sparks. Niko, Fay, and Brittany all woke up with a startle to see magnemite hovering around the lakefront trying to fend off a large three headed bird. Not realizing what kind of pokémon this is, Niko pulled out his pokédex:

" _Dodrio, the triple bird pokémon. One of doduo's 2 heads splits to form a unique species. It runs close to 40 MPH in prairies._ "

"Dodrio eh…" Fay said as he summoned charmander from its pokéball. "Use slash!"

Charmander's attack missed as the three-headed bird retaliated with what seemed to be tri attack, which they all saw during the S.S. Anne tournament. The attack hit charmander straight on as the lizard pokémon fell backwards onto the ground. Niko chose pidgey to help out with a quick attack followed up by gust. The attack hit, but dodrio then slammed into pidgey with its own quick attack, knocking the bird over. Brittany sent out squirtle to use water gun and rapid spin with the same results.

"Alright guys, let's all attack it at the same time," Fay mentioned as charmander, squirtle, and pidgey used ember, water gun, and gust, respectively. They collided with dodrio's tri attack, which created a small explosion in the middle of the field, scaring away the triple bird pokémon and, unsurprisingly, magnemite as well.

"Hey, magnemite! Where'd you go?" Niko said as he walked to the collection of trees nearby. Fay and Brittany, along with their pokémon, also started searching, but they couldn't seem to find the little pokémon. After about a half hour or so, they rejoined a JJ—who was still out cold—and fell asleep once more.

The next morning, the group continued their travels towards Lavender Town. They would know that they were halfway there when they reached the coast once again. Route 12 was directly along the water, with the town up north, roughly a couple days' trek. They were starting to near it when they saw a pack of doduo circled around something. Curious, the four trainers ran over, startling the birds who then proceeded to attack them. Niko commanded kadabra to use confusion and halt them in their tracks, but the attack simply wasn't powerful enough, and instead angered the pack even more. They chased down the now retreating group through the field they were in. A moment later, they ran directly into a dodrio, presumably the one from the night before. Turns out, it indeed was the same triple bird pokémon, as it clearly recognized Niko and his friends.

It began to charge up a tri attack when kadabra came in and teleported Niko and his friends out of harm's way. Turning back to dodrio from a distance, it waved its spoon to use confusion when it was hit with another tri attack, followed up by a rather quick peck to the face. The psi pokémon collapsed to the ground as Niko prepared to pull out another pokéball.

However, his efforts to use another member of his team were interrupted as magnemite floated in front of him. It looked like it was ready to fight back against the dodrio. Looking behind him to where the pack of doduo were, it seemed reasonable to believe that they were swarming around the magnemite, likely to bully it for whatever reason.

"Magnemite…" Niko said, "You want to fight dodrio…?" The magnet pokémon turned around and nodded, its single eye flaring up with determination. Niko smiled as he watched it dodge the tri attack from dodrio, but failed to evade the following peck attack. Magnemite fell to the ground, emitting an electric spark from its body in the direction of dodrio, who seemed unfased by the attack.

Niko got down to pick magnemite up as Fay commanded charmander to attack with ember and JJ commanded beedrill to use poison sting. This gave Niko and the magnet pokémon a chance to get back. He looked down at the electric type. "Are you okay, buddy?" magnemite shook its body up and down as if it were nodding. "Great! You were quite the battler out there, good job."

Magnemite smiled again (as one might expect a magnet creature to smile) and floated out of Niko's arms to help charmander, beedrill, and now squirtle fight the dodrio. The four pokémon then launched their attacks simultaneously at dodrio. The triple bird then ran away with its fellow doduo, apparently frightened off now by the three pokémon, unlike the night before.

"Odd…why did it get so scared this time?" Niko wondered. He then looked at magnemite, who was still emitting electric sparks. "Did you do that…?" The magnet looked at him, a little confused. Niko shrugged, still unsure of what scared the dodrio but disregarded it. He pulled out a pokéball and looked over at magnemite, who took it as a challenge. "Magnemite…want to join me?" Niko smiled.

The magnemite, figuring that Niko was challenging it to a battle, quickly realized there wasn't anything in the pokéball he was holding. So, the little magnet hovered over to the monster ball and tapped the button in the middle, immediately going inside. Niko held it as it vibrated a few times before ultimately clicking. Niko immediately sent out his new pokémon.

"Welcome to the team, magnemite!" He cheered alongside his friends and their pokémon. Magnemite chittered for a moment before coming in and "hugging" Niko with its thundershock attack.

The group continued down route 12 for another hour or so before JJ immediately stopped. "Uhh…guys…the egg…it's hatching…" Everyone suddenly turned around as their friend's egg started to crack. What used to be an egg shape was not replaced with a little red puppy sitting in the bottom half of the shell. Confused, Niko pulled out his pokédex:

" _Growlithe, the puppy pokémon. A pokémon with a friendly nature. However, it will bark fiercely at anything invading its territory._ "

"Hey, growlithe, want to join my team?" JJ asked softly as he looked down at his new pokémon. The puppy responded by licking his face playfully. "I'll take that as a yes!" He said, putting growlithe on the ground to reach for his pokéball.

However, growlithe wanted to be held, and so put its paw on JJ's arm indicating so. "But growlithe…I need to catch you first. I'll hold you in a moment, okay?" This wasn't enough for the little puppy, as it kept whimpering and putting its paws all over JJ's arm, eventually scratching him a little. The trainer ignored this, and instead tapped the pokéball on growlithe's head, sending it into the pokéball. It eventually clicked, and JJ sent out his new pokémon to pick it up and hold it as they continued their journey to Lavender Town.

* * *

 **Author's note: Yeah I know, kind of a short episode. There wasn't much else other than introducing magnemite and growlithe, and I didn't want to develop their personalities too much since I plan to more going forward (especially with magnemite, and a little less so with growlithe, but development all the same). Regardless, I hope you enjoy and see ya next episode!**


	19. Episode 19: Early bird gets the evolutio

**Episode 19: Early bird gets the evolution**

The group finally made it to the coast of Kanto. As they began to see the water in the distance, they started running towards it. In the midday sunlight it almost seemed perfect. They proceeded to set up their camp with hopes of spending the remainder of the day there, both to enjoy the view and to work on some training before their next gym battle. As JJ mentioned earlier, the Saffron gym uses psychic types, which are generally difficult to beat. Since neither Fay nor Niko had any pokémon with advantages against psychic types, they figured it was best to either use brute force (Niko) or to find a way to out-strategize Sabrina (Fay).

They did this in their own way, sending out each of their pokémon and working on different training methods. Niko figured taking his pokémon out on a run would help, at least to warm them up. Fay worked on his dodging exercises from the time they were in Viridian City. If he knew anything about psychic types from watching Niko's kadabra, then he figured quick reflexes would help immensely.

While Niko was running with his pokémon, he realized pidgey wasn't feeling too well. Cradling it in his arms and taking it back to the camp, he lay the tiny bird down in the grass and brought out one of the berries he had in his backpack and tried feeding it. Pidgey took the berry and munched on it for a couple seconds, but didn't show any signs of improvement. He then went on an excursion out into the forest behind them to search for more food alongside JJ, while Fay continued training and Brittany watched over pidgey.

Walking through the forest, Niko wondered what might be wrong with pidgey. He relayed this to his friend and growlithe, who was in JJ's arms, carefully listening as well.

"I don't uh know, Niko. It looks like just a fever to me," JJ said, eying the trees and bushes they walked past for any sign of food.

"I hope it's just that. Doesn't seem to be too bad, but I am worried. Pidgey is such a great battler. I don't want this thing it has to debilitate it, y'know?"

JJ nodded, and the two continued through the forest. Eventually they found a collection of pink pecha berries growing on a nearby bush. Thinking maybe pidgey could have gotten poisoned somehow, Niko ran over and grabbed a handful and put them in his backpack. Nodding to JJ, he turned and ran back in the direction that they came.

"Here pidgey, try this one now," Niko said as he opened pidgey's beak to put the berry in. The tiny bird ate it, but still didn't seem to feel better.

"Let's give it some time, Niko," Fay mentioned as him and his pokémon walked back over. "No one gets over illness quickly. Let's make some food and see how pidgey is doing later."

Niko nodded in agreement as he grabbed a nearby water bottle and made his flying type drink some of it before letting it nap for the afternoon. He got up and continued on his run with bulbasaur, kadabra, and magnemite. The latter, getting tired more easily than the former two, was given a break and went back to the camp to hang out with Brittany and JJ, along with their pokémon.

Niko returned half an hour later, exhausted. Bulbasaur and kadabra both collapsed on the grass. Their trainer brought over some sea water for them to drink and let them rest for the remainder of the day. He eventually sat down to look at pidgey, who seemed to be fine but was nonetheless still fast asleep.

"Has pidgey had any problems while I was gone?" Niko asked Brittany, who had been watching the tiny bird pokémon the entire time. She shook her head in response, eliciting a smile from the boy. He pet his pokémon's head for a moment, and then got up to help JJ and Fay with dinner.

As they cooked, they thought they had heard a rustling sound up in the trees behind them, opposite the ocean. Turning around, Niko walked over to the forest only to be hit in the face with an incoming talon. The trainer fell back into the grass, gripping his face in pain. His friends ran up to him as kadabra and bulbasaur tried to fight off the menace that hurt their trainer.

"Niko! Niko are you okay?" Brittany asked, getting on her knees to see what happened. Removing his hand she noticed his cheek was scratched up, but otherwise he seemed fine.

"I'm…okay!" He said, sitting up, "That hurt like hell though. What was it?"

"That bird fighting your pokémon," JJ mentioned, pointing over to the campsite. Niko turned around, noticing a fearow doing combat with bulbasaur and kadabra. Leaping up, he was about to yell out attacks when he realized pidgey was back up and now fending off attackers of its own, this time a trio of little spearow. Magnemite attempted to assist, only to get kicked away by what seemed to be a fury attack from one of the spearow.

"Charmander, mankey! Assist pidgey with ember and low kick!" Fay commanded, "Gyarados, use water gun on the fearow!"

All three attacks landed, with only mankey taking a peck to the foot in response, but otherwise the attack seemed to scare off the birds. Niko ran over to pidgey, who was now injured instead of ill. He cradled the little bird in his arms as his pokémon walked over to him to help out in any way.

"I have to keep a better eye on pidgey for now. I don't it to take any more attacks. It's hurt enough as it is," He said, clearly shaken by the series of hits his pokémon has taken.

"Pidgey's a tough pokémon dude, you're gonna be fine!" JJ reassured his friend, getting a smile in return.

"You're right, JJ, but I'm still going to be watching it until it gets better."

"Maybe we could take turns watching it through the night?" Brittany proposed. Niko, Fay, and JJ nodded. They, like all problems they encountered, were in this together.

The group ate dinner—cooked fish, thanks to help from charmander, bulbasaur, and gyarados—and talked for a bit before heading off to bed. Fay decided to take the first shift watching pidgey, instructing his pokémon to do some training while he sat next to the tiny bird, making sure it was doing fine. Charmander and mankey got back to their dodging exercises, only Fay now had them work on flipping in the air, which took a lot more effort than one might think from an acrobatic monkey. Charmander naturally had difficulties with this.

Brittany's shift was next. She sat there talking with squirtle throughout their shift, allowing the tiny turtle to play in the water while she watched over pidgey. It was nice to be alone for a moment. Even though she was enjoying the adventures, she had spent a lot of time beforehand alone. Before taking the cruise, she had some friends, but not many. And so when those friends weren't available, she would spend her time on the computer, reading, or walking around the city in search of new restaurants to try out. _I guess everyone needs some alone time now and then. I wonder how these three do it_. She thought, looking over at her sleeping companions. _Maybe it's something they had to get used to. Either way, it's a lot of fun being with them. I'm sure squirtle is loving it a lot as well. He never really had a lot of friends, and now he has so many that he doesn't know what to do with himself._

Niko took the third shift of the night. Only kadabra was awake at that time, so Niko watched the psi pokémon do some psychic tricks with his spoon. Around this time pidgey woke up, looking up to see its trainer looking back down at it.

"Feeling better, buddy?" He asked quietly. The tiny bird nodded, indicating that it felt much better. Kadabra also smiled, finishing up a trick it learned with its spoon before heading back to bed, accidentally waking magnemite up in the process. The baby magnet hovered over to Niko and sat in his lap while pidgey stretched and went to drink some ocean water. "Kadabra woke you up, huh?" magnemite nodded, albeit a little angrily. "It's okay, you'll get plenty of rest tomorrow. We're only going to be walking to Lavender Town, bar any accidents that is."

As he said "accidents" he heard a rustle in the trees again, however it was fainter than before. Niko got up, not even attempting to walk over again out of fear that he might get smacked in the face by fearow's talon again. He didn't need to, as it turned out: fearow was already near the water, about to prey on a recovering pidgey.

Niko turned back to the ocean after hearing pidgey squeal in pain from what looked like a drill peck attack from the beak pokémon. In response, magnemite leapt out of Niko's arms and used thundershock on the flying type, hoping to subdue it long enough for pidgey to escape. It succeeded, but also turning the fearow's attention towards magnemite, and whipping up a strong gust to fling the magnet pokémon out of the way and into the grass below.

This inadvertently woke up the rest of the group, all of whom wanted to help pidgey. However, as Fay and Brittany were about to command attacks from their pokémon, pidgey stopped them by throwing up a wing in their direction; the trainers stopped.

"Niko…I think pidgey wants to fight fearow…" Fay said, looking over at his friend. Niko nodded.

"Pidgey, you're hurt, do you really want to fight?" He asked his flying pokémon. The tiny bird responded with a determined nod, and took flight above the ocean. "Alright then! Let's start off with a gust!"

Pidgey responded by furiously flapping its wings, only to be stricken with a drill peck to the stomach in retaliation. The bird quickly fell to the water, but was caught by Niko, who waded through the low tide to grab his pokémon. Pidgey tried to wiggle its way out of Niko's arms, but the trainer refused to let it go, afraid that it would hurt itself more.

That's when pidgey began to glow, illuminating the area around them, as far as the campsite a dozen yards away. Pidgey suddenly started growing, and when it stopped, became a more mature version of its previous form. Niko, realizing pidgey had evolved, let it go as it shot back into the air, wings glowing white, and struck fearow in the neck. The beak pokémon responded with its own wing attack, and the two exchanged attacks until fearow went in for one final drill peck, only to be blown back into the trees by the most powerful gust attack Niko had ever seen from his pokémon. Watching the bird descend back to the ground, he pulled out his pokédex:

" _Pidgeotto, the bird pokémon. Very protective of its sprawling territorial area, this pokémon will fiercely peck at any intruder._ "

"Great job, pidgeotto!" Niko said as his new bird pokémon landed on the ground. The group all surrounded the flying type. Magnemite, having never seen an evolution up close, was entranced by his evolved friend, floating around it happily and accidentally shocking it in the process. Pidgeotto reflexively whacked the magnet pokémon away, only to try embracing it a moment later. This generated a little laugh from the group, who minutes later were all sound asleep, the calming sound of the low tide rocking them softly into dreamland.


	20. Episode 20: The pokémon graveyard

**Episode 20: The pokémon graveyard**

Lavender Town had an eerie feel to it. The gang immediately felt it when they entered the town around sunset a couple days after pidgey evolved. Immediately heading to the pokémon center, they had a quick dinner and plotted out what they wanted to do while in town.

JJ pulled out his trusty pamphlet and looked up Lavender Town's attractions. Immediately, his face soured a little. Fay, Niko, and Brittany all looked at him curiously. "Well…there's a cemetery, and the Pokémon Tower, which is also a cemetery…but in a tower. And then there's a radio tower. So those are our options…"

The group was silent for a moment before Niko eventually spoke up. "I think we should give the Pokémon Tower a shot. Doesn't it say something in there about being famous for tourists to pay respects to fallen pokémon?" JJ nodded, "Well, let's go check it out! It'd be an interesting experience I think"

The rest of the group nodded, finished their dinner with their pokémon, and headed to bed. As they turned off their lights and began to fall asleep, Niko could have felt the room getting colder, making it difficult to fall asleep. Turning back on the light, he looked over at Fay, Brittany, and JJ, all of whom seemed to be awake as well. Looking over at each other, they all seemed perplexed, especially since they all felt the same cold chill in the room. The four then went back to sleep—or tried to—for the remainder of the night, still feeling cold but eventually becoming so exhausted that they fell asleep.

The following day, the group woke up later than usual due to the inability to sleep for most of the night. Crawling out of their beds, they managed to get dressed and ready to head off to Pokémon Tower.

The tower, which was the tallest building in the city, was surrounded in an odd, light fog covering the base. The group walked into the building and past the receptionist, who looked downright miserable with his job, as he was sitting on the computer playing a card game. The first floor had some signs on the walls indicating historical facts of the tower as well as some warnings regarding wild pokémon who may live in the tower.

Walking over to a nearby grave, they noticed an old lady standing nearby, gripping her wooden cane as she held her head down, eyes closed. Listening closely, they could hear her humming. Naturally, JJ walked over to the lady, interrupting whatever it was that she was doing and promptly got a whack of the cane directly to the stomach.

"Owww!" The young trainer yelped out in pain, getting down on his knees and gripping his stomach.

"Don't interrupt my incantations and I won't hit you, youngster," She said, now facing him and leaning on her cane to look downwards at JJ.

"I'm sorry miss, I didn't real—"

"Could you _not_ hear me mumbling?" She said, scolding JJ. "Listen here, kid, this is not how you treat women my age. Or, rather, women at all. Be careful!" She was wagging a crooked finger at him.

"We're sorry for our friend, he can be socially tone-deaf sometimes," Fay mentioned, grabbing JJ's hand and pulling him up.

"Oh it's no problem, sonny boy, I just figured the young man could use a cold, wooden lesson, he-he," She said, chuckling. "So…what are you kids here for? Lose a pokémon?"

"Oh, not at all," Niko piped in. "We were just travelling here on our way to Saffron City, and figured we would check out the Pokémon Tower."

"Ah I see. Well, there isn't much here, to be quite honest with you. Say, you mention that you're travelling. Challenging gyms, eh?" Niko and Fay both nodded. "I see…I see…well! Good luck to both of you. Sabrina is a tough cookie. I remember when she challenged me…what a match that was…"

"Challenged…you?" Fay asked curiously.

"Oh, yes young man. My name is Agatha. I am a member of the Elite 4 here in Kanto."

Niko and Fay's jaws seemed to drop for a moment. They had seen pictures of Agatha several times, but sometimes people look different in person than they do in pictures. This was one of those moments. For someone who looked as old as Agatha, she certainly seemed to be spry enough to still get around, much less battle.

"You kids look surprised. Why is that?" The old lady cocked her head to the side a little like a dog, seeming confused at the reaction in front of her.

"We've never met anyone of the Elite 4 before…" Niko said, bringing his jaw back up to join the rest of his head. Agatha mouthed a visible "ah" before continuing.

"I see. Well, battling is what keeps me alive, to be honest. At the age of 78 I still find as much joy in battling alongside my pokémon as I did when I was 13. These kinds of things tend not to change. I've seen a lot of trainers, and battled with a lot of pokémon, and it never gets old. That's why I remain a member of the Elite 4. That, and rarely do I get beaten. That's also something you gain with age—confidence, and lots of it," Agatha chuckled as she said the last part.

"Well, would it be okay if we battled you?" Fay asked, sparking the Elite 4 member's interest. Niko nodded in agreement.

"Hmm…ah, what the heck, why not. But only if you do one thing for me, okay?"

"What would that be?" Niko asked.

"I need you to go to the top of this tower and try and contact a marowak. Rumor has it that this particular pokémon died decades ago in this very tower and still haunts it to this day. In my old age I find it difficult to climb that many stairs, and an elevator has not been installed in his building for, well, obvious reasons, and so I often ask young trainers to go and see if the marowak is still in my place. I have an affinity for ghost pokémon, and would like to bring it down here to talk with it. However, every trainer I've asked in the past has gotten too scared and doesn't make it back with the marowak."

Niko and Fay looked at each other, nodded silently, and then verbally agreed to help Agatha out. The old lady smiled warmly, and sent them off to the top of the tower.

The Pokémon Tower was an oddly grueling hike—it had been ages since either Fay or Niko had climbed up as many flights of stairs as they did that day. Moving past mourning trainers and pokémon, and seeing the occasional ghost type scare unsuspecting tourists, the two finally made it to the seventh floor, where marowak was said to be resting.

The two approached what looked to be a large tomb with a casket laying behind it at the end of the room. The inscription read: " **Here lies the pokémon Marowak, the beloved sidekick of a once legendary trainer and King of the Kanto region.** "

"King of the Kanto region…?" Fay wondered.

"Yeah, this region used to be a monarchy before the Great Pokemon War 500 years ago. Learned it in history," Niko, a casual history buff, mentioned.

"So…" Fay began again, staring at the casket with a confused look, "What do we do now?"

"I guess we open it…?" Niko replied curiously. He then mistakenly attempted to open the casket behind the tomb, but as he did so, he felt a strong gust of wind hit the side of his face as he fell as few feet backwards. "What the hell was that?!" He cried in pain.

Out of the casket came a dark cloud, hovering above in the shape of a pokémon. Niko pulled out his pokédex in an attempt to get data on it, but it didn't respond to the ghost.

"This must be the marowak Agatha wants us to bring to her. "But how would we go about doing that?"

"WHAT DO YOU WANT?!" The ghost bellowed, seeming to shake the room with its exploding voice. "WHO DARES INTERRUPT MY SLEEP!?"

"Marowak, we come to you at the request of Agatha of the Eli—"

"SILENCE!" The marowak interrupted, "I KNOW OF AGATHA. I WILL NOT RETURN TO HER."

"Return…to her…?" Fay asked.

"YES. SHE WAS ONCE MY TRAINER. I REFUSE TO GO BACK."

"But this inscription says you were once the pokémon for the King of Kanto…" Niko mentioned.

"I AM AWARE, YOUNG TRAINER. THERE IS INDEED A MAROWAK IN THERE. I AM NOT THAT, BUT MERELY CHANNELING THE SPIRIT OF THE MAROWAK SO THAT I MAY SPEAK WITH YOU."

"Then what are you?"

As Niko asked this question, the body reshaped itself into a new figure, this time much larger. The new creature bore bright red eyes and a giant mouth, with two arms and legs popping out of the body. The pokédex responded this time:

" _Gengar, the shadow pokémon. A gengar is close by if you feel a sudden chill. It may be trying to lay a curse on you_."

"You're Agatha's pokémon?" Fay asked. The gengar nodded, now unable to communicate in the same language as before. "Wait…this doesn't make sense, why would you embody the ghost of a marowak in the first place?"

"Because it knows that I would seek it out here. This is where I met it decades ago as a ghastly," Fay and Niko turned around to see Agatha, Brittany, and JJ standing at the stairs. "After a bad fight gengar ran away from me, and I keep trying to bring it back home with me, but for some reason it hasn't wanted to. I don't understand, gengar."

The gengar huffed and turned its back to its trainer. The Elite 4 member walked up to it and stood directly in front of the tomb and casket and looked straight at her pokémon.

"Gengar, whatever I did wrong, I am deeply sorry. You were one of my first pokémon, all those years ago. It would crush me to give up all that we have been through, all of the battles, good and bad; all of the friendships that have come and gone; all of your memories with your teammates. Do you really want to let that go?"

For one of the more distant members of the Elite 4, Agatha seemed to be quite upset at that moment. Niko could have sworn that he saw a tear in her eye (although Agatha herself wouldn't admit to such). The gengar turned around and looked down at its trainer, also shedding a couple tears. The two then embraced in a hug (or whatever hugging a ghost looks like). Gengar and Agatha then turned to the trainers, dumbfounded.

"Thank you boys for your help, I do appreciate it."

Fay, now confused as ever, responded. "What did we do? That whole reunion…that was your doing. We played no role in that."

"Well, you did agree to help me out. That counts for something. You both—who wants to battle? I only have time for one battle before I have to head back to Indigo Plateau."

Fay and Niko looked at each other, each giving the other a chance to battle. After arguing over it for a couple minutes, JJ and Brittany piped in.

"Niko should do it. We've decided and that's final!" Brittany said in a decisive tone. Fay and Niko both nodded, and the five trainers—plus gengar—walked out of the tower and down the street to the pokémon center's battlefield. Agatha and Niko got on separate ends.

"Gengar, you ready to fight?" Agatha asked her trusty sidekick. The shadow pokémon nodded back, leaping out onto the battlefield.

"Alright pidgeotto, come on out!" Niko said, sending out his newly evolved flying type. "Let's start off with a wing attack!"

As pidgeotto sprang into action, shooting like a bullet towards gengar with its wings glowing white, Agatha and her pokémon both stood still. Then, as the attack almost landed, she made her move. "Hypnosis."

Pidgeotto crashed to the ground, fast asleep. "Now, dream eater!" gengar's eyes started glowing bright red, causing the bird pokémon to spasm violently while sleeping. Almost immediately, pidgeotto fainted.

"Wow…" JJ said, dumbfounded, "That was fast…"

"Makes sense, since she is a member of the Elite 4 and has been battling with gengar for decades at this point," Fay noted as Niko returned pidgeotto and walked up to Agatha.

"I'm sorry if that was wasting your time, Agatha…"

"Oh, no! Niko," The old lady said reassuringly, "You are nowhere near as experienced as I am! Have you ever seen the move dream eater?" Niko shook his head, "Well, it cuts away at the health of your pokémon while it's asleep, and therefore can't fight back. It's a nasty combination with hypnosis. Consider this a learning experience! You'll eventually find a way to fight back against a combo like that," She patted him on the shoulder. "How many badges do you have, sonny?" Niko put up three fingers in response. "Ah, so you're still going somewhere! Sabrina will be tough, no doubt, but I think you will do just fine against her. Your pidgeotto seems tough; it wants to fight, and loves it. Surround yourself with pokémon like that, and you'll go far.

"Thank you, Agatha, I appreciate that," Niko said, nodding his head and smiling, grateful that he had the opportunity to battle someone as strong and experienced as Agatha.

"Anytime, kid. And if you ever win the Indigo League, you will have to face me. Be ready for that."

With that, Agatha and gengar left the pokémon center, off on their next adventure together. The rest of the group headed into the pokémon center to grab some food and recollect on the events of the day thus far. It was certainly far from over at that point.


	21. Episode 21: Trouble at the Power Plant!

**Episode 21: Trouble at the Power Plant!**

The group sat down at a booth in the pokémon center as they ate lunch and plotted their next move. Additionally, pidgeotto needed to rest after being defeated by Agatha's gengar.

"So is there anything else you guys want to do while here?" Niko said in between bites of a sandwich.

"Well, we could just head off to Saffron City. I'm sure it's open. After like, what, a month and a half? It should be open by now," Fay responded. Brittany seemed to be in agreement with this point.

"There is a radio tower here. Maybe we could check that out?" JJ suggested. Niko agreed this time.

"Yeah, I mean it's only a radio tower. It can't take _that_ long, right? Then we just head on our way right after that! How long does it take to get to Saffron City, JJ?"

Niko's friend looked at his trusty regional map. "About half a week, by the looks of it. Vermilion is just south of Saffron, and it took a week to get here from Vermilion, so I would imagine it's around a few days."

"Well, then how do you all feel about going to the radio tower for a little bit, and then head off to Saffron right after?" Niko proposed. Fay and Brittany both quickly agreed, and the group proceeded to finish their lunch.

The radio tower was across the street from the Pokémon Tower, which was moderately close to the pokémon center. As they walked by, they noticed the area was sectioned off by yellow caution tape and a large "CLOSED" sign near it. Walking up to the officer in charge of guarding the entrance, Fay asked what was going on.

"Powers out for some reason. Just went out across the whole town and nearby cities are reporting similar problems as well."

"Do you know what the cause of it all was?" Niko questioned. The officer peered over at him, as if he had asked a silly question.

"Well, something went wrong at the Power Plant up north. He think it may have been the job of Team Rocket, but at this point we don't have any evidence to believe this to be true."

"I see, well thanks officer!" Niko said, bowing to the officer before walking away with the rest of the group. "Let's go to the Power Plant!"

"But Niko…why?" Brittany asked. "We should be heading to Saffron City soon anyways."

"Maybe they're connected. Maybe if we figure out what's up at the power plant we might solve the issues in Saffron. Just a shot in the dark, but it could work?" Niko said, shrugging his shoulders.

"Worth a shot," JJ mentioned, looking at the map. "It isn't too far, actually. We just have to go through Rock Tunnel, and we're right there!"

Rock Tunnel was immediately north of Lavender Town and was a relatively short travel through, despite having to fend off the occasional frightened zubat or golbat that tried to attack them. Reaching the end of the tunnel, the group noticed a river flowing peacefully alongside the mountain range that the tunnel rested inside.

"Is the Power Plant down that way…?" Fay asked, looking downstream.

"Guess so…" Niko responded.

"Wait, guys!" Brittany interrupted, pointing to a building off in the distance, "Look over there! That might be it!"

"Yeah! It looks exactly like the picture in the pamphlet!" JJ mentioned, looking at the image of the plant in his little booklet. "But how are we going to get there? Doesn't look like there's a path…"

"We got this," Fay replied, pulling out a pokéball. "Go, gyarados! Hey, everyone, we can ride down there!"

The group climbed onto the atrocious pokémon as it swam downstream to the Power Plant. After a couple minutes, they finally made it back on land, and staring directly at the primary power source for the Kanto region. The Power Plant was enormous—it at first looked like a gargantuan steel box with a massive set of solar panels sitting atop and around it.

Walking inside, they were even more astounded. The room was packed to the ceiling with sets of generators and servers, all connecting with various colors of wire. It wasn't a surprise that this was the source of power for most of the region—if not all of it. While they were admiring the intricacies of the technology, a rather large man approached them.

"Why hello youngsters, how may I help you? Also who let you in here?"

"There's security for this building?" JJ asked. The man face-palmed, cursing his security guards under his breath for their negligence. "Also we heard about the power outage in Lavender Town and wanted to help, if possible."

"Why would you ever want to do that, or think that you can?" He asked, looking down specifically at JJ.

"Well, sir, we wanted to visit the radio tower in Lavender. And we also think this power outage might be connected to the shutdown of Saffron City," Nick answered, waving his arms to gesture his words. The man then peered over at him with the same look he was giving JJ—one of suspicion.

"There is no connection. You may leave. Also, there's nothing worth seeing at the radio tower, to be honest," With that, he walked off, motioning for the kids dismissively as he turned his back to them.

Walking back out, feeling oddly dejected, the group was about to get back onto gyarados when Fay noticed a pokémon standing outside the Power Plant, using what seemed to be an electric move to power one of the solar panels on the ground. Instead of getting on gyarados, he started walking over to the pokémon, pulling out his pokédex in the process:

" _Electabuzz, the electric pokémon._ _If a major outage occurs, it is certain that this pokémon has eaten electricity at a power plant_."

"Wait…it's not using an electric attack like I thought…" Fay mentioned as the electabuzz noticed him. This is what's causing the power outage! It's sucking the energy out of the solar panels!"

"What the hell…" JJ replied, getting back off of gyarados and pulling out a pokéball. "Well, let's defeat it, then!"

"Wait, JJ, be careful!" Fay said, holding his hand back. "It's pretty strong if it is able to store all of this energy. We can't just run in expecting to defeat it."

"You're right," Niko replied, also getting off gyarados. "We should inform the people at the Power Plant. Maybe they weren't aware of electabuzz. "Brittany, let's go tell them!" The brunette responded, the last one to get off of the atrocious pokémon and run off with her friend to the Power Plant. Fay and JJ looked at each other, and then at the electabuzz, who had stopped absorbing energy and faced them.

The electric pokémon then unleashed what looked like a thunderbolt attack towards the two trainers, who both quickly dodged and fell into the grass. Fay pulled out a pokéball and both him and JJ summoned pokémon to challenge electabuzz.

"Mankey, come on out!"

"Eevee, I choose you! Use dig!"

As eevee dug a hole in the ground, mankey leapt at the electric type responded with a quick attack, both pokémon colliding spectacularly as eevee came up from under and slammed into electabuzz, knocking the yellow creature onto its back. Mankey then proceeded to use karate chop, only to be grabbed by the electabuzz. The latter than used thunderbolt, sending an immense amount of electricity through mankey and defeated the fighting type.

"Mankey, return! Charmander, come on out!"

"Eevee, use dig again!" JJ ordered. The evolution pokémon dug back into the ground and charmander used a distanced ember attack on electabuzz. The fire hit the electric pokémon square in the face as it hobbled backwards, clearly caught off guard. As eevee successfully landed another hit with dig, and charmander another ember, Fay then decided to throw a pokéball at it.

Electabuzz went into the pokéball. It fell to the ground and wiggled around a few times before ultimately clicking. Fay walked over and picked it up. "Well, we dealt with that, I guess."

"Yeah…that's true. Good job, anyways!" JJ said as he pet eevee, still holding his little growlithe as usual.

Niko and Brittany finally returned with the man from before, who had in the meantime introduced himself as the head manager of the Power Plant. Looking around, the three looked confused. Fay lifted up electabuzz's pokéball.

"I caught it," He mentioned. The manager walked over to him, trying to snatch the pokéball from him. "Hey! What's the big idea?"

"That belongs to the Power Plant, kid!" He said as he tried to snatch it away a second time. Again, Fay walked backwards, not letting his new pokémon leave his palm.

"No, it does not! I was able to catch it, which means it's mine!" Fay retaliated. The manager, who seemed angry at the amount of resistance he was being shown, ended up backing off and storming back into the Power Plant, muttering a "thank you" to Niko and Brittany as he passed by.

"What the hell was his problem?" JJ asked, returning eevee and walking over to gyarados with his friends. The three other trainers shrugged, and travelled back to the entrance of Rock Tunnel, hoping that the power was back on in Lavender Town.

Turns out, it was when they reached the town about a half an hour later. They were able to finally see the radio tower like Niko had wanted to and, more importantly, head off to Saffron City the following day. The officers in charge of watching the radio tower seemed more thankful when they heard the story of an electabuzz who was stealing the power, and noticed the trainers who caught it return to the town. For a moment, the group felt vindicated in knowing that they had done the right thing, and the manager was wrong in trying to steal Fay's new pokémon.

In the end, the radio tower wasn't too impressive. They did get to meet some of the people who work behind the scenes in the radio business, as well as the studio that shows are recorded in, but otherwise they didn't get to see much else of interest. Leaving the tower and heading off, the group, now with a new addition to their team, walked off down the path to Saffron City, and the next pokémon gym.


	22. Episode 22: Enter Elliot

**Episode 22: Enter Elliot**

According to JJ, it was going to take a few days to reach Saffron City from Lavender Town. Over the following days, Niko and Fay continued training their pokémon.

"Bulbasaur, let's work on improving your stun spore, okay? I want you to get faster at unleashing it! That way, we can paralyze our opponent and defeat them quicker!" The seed pokémon nodded as it continued practicing the stun spore, occasionally hitting one of Niko's other pokémon on accident. "Magnemite, I want you to practice your thundershock. We don't know how many pokémon Sabrina uses, so I might have to rely on you eventually, and I want you to be the strongest that you can be!"

The magnet pokémon smiled happily, whirring around in the air before getting down to business and practicing its thundershock. Niko then turned to kadabra and pidgeotto to ask them to practice using their confusion and wing attacks, the latter of which needed to get faster. Niko was hoping to maybe use a combination of quick attack and wing attack in battle. He just hasn't tried it yet in and actual battle.

Niko could sense that bulbasaur in particular was getting much stronger, but he couldn't exactly pin down why this was the case. Maybe it was the vine whips were getting more powerful? Or possibly it was getting quicker at releasing its stun spore. As the group was about to pack up, they heard someone battling nearby. Curious, Niko and Fay got up and went to go see what was going on.

"Nidorino, use double-edge!" A boy much younger than them commanded as his pokémon rushed at a squirtle, knocking it sideways and into a nearby fence. "Now use poison sting!" the pokémon once again obeyed the command, pointing the horn on its head and ramming it into the tiny turtle pokémon, who fainted as a result.

"Hey, nice job, kid," Squirtle's owner said, complementing his opponent's battling.

"Anytime, maybe we'll get to battle sometime again soon," The trainer with the nidorino responded, returning his pokémon. As they parted ways, he looked up the hill and immediately noticed Fay and Niko. "Fay? Is that you?"

Fay looked surprised for a moment, walking down the hill to get a better look at the trainer calling for him. "Elliot?"

"What? You two know each other?" Niko asked as he began walking down the hill to catch up to his friend.

"Wow, it's been forever! How's life?" Fay inquired as he shook Elliot's hand.

"Doing alright, just travelling and challenging pokémon gyms. You?"

"No way! Same here, only with my friend from Pallet, Niko," Fay said, motioning over to his friend as he caught up. Niko shook Elliot's hand and introduced himself.

"That's pretty cool. How many badges do you both have?"

"Only three, but we're heading to Saffron to get our fourth," Niko responded.

"Nice, nice. Sabrina is tough, that's for sure," Elliot said as he pulled out his badge case, revealing six badges.

"Oh wow! You can almost compete in the Indigo League!" Niko exclaimed in wonder.

"Yeah, of course I can. But I'll have to wait until the spring when the next conference is. Hopefully you can make it, Fay."

"I fully intend to. Maybe we'll get to battle each other then!" Fay nodded, looking more determined now to go all the way.

"Let's hope so. Say, wanna battle right now?" Elliot asked.

"I would, but my pokémon are tired from training all day. They need their rest if we're going to beat Sabrina," Fay answered, "Although, I think Niko might be interested."

Elliot looked over at Niko with a blank stare, waiting for a response. "Sure, why not?" Niko said, calling over his pokémon. "How many do you want to use?"

"How many you got?" Elliot replied.

"Four for now."

"Then four-vs-four it is. Get ready," Elliot said as he walked to one end of a fenced off area, Niko the other end.

Brittany and JJ had packed up the camp and were heading down the hill to see what was going on. Fay filled them in on the details as Niko and Elliot were beginning their match.

"Bulbasaur, come on out!" Niko exclaimed.

"Bulbasaur, eh?" Elliot said, smirking, "Well then, scyther! I choose you!" Niko, unfamiliar with Elliot's choice, pulled out his pokédex in response.

" _Scyther, the mantis pokémon. With ninja-like agility and speed, it can create the illusion that there is more than one_."

"Bulbasaur, just like we practiced! Use stun spo—huh?" Niko stared in shock as scyther was already upon the seed pokémon, using slash to essentially slap the grass type across the field. "Bulbasaur, get up! Use stun spo—agh!" Before Niko could even give a command scyther was again attacking, this time using quick attack.

"You have to be fast, Niko. That's why I use scyther—it finishes battles quickly."

"But the battle has just begun!" Niko exclaimed. "Bulbasaur, fight it head on! Use your vine whip and wrap yourself around it!"

The seed pokémon then unleashed its green vines on scyther, successfully wrapping itself around. However, as it got close enough Elliot commanded it to use wing attack, effectively ending bulbasaur.

"Alright, fine," Niko said, returning bulbasaur, "Then let's fight speed with speed. Pidgeotto, I choose you! Use wing attack!"

"Return, scyther," Elliot said, pulling out the mantis pokémon's pokéball as pidgeotto crashed into the ground. "Go, Nidorino!"

"Wha—what?" Niko responded, confused by the recall.

"There's no rule against substituting in a battle, Niko. You should know that," Elliot said before commanding nidorino to use a double-edge. It was evaded by pidgeotto, who used gust to repel the poison-type. "Pokémon battles are all about the type. It's a game of rock-paper-scissors. As long as my pokémon's type has an advantage against yours, I can easily win."

"That's not always the case, and I'll prove it! Pidgeotto, let's use your new combo! Quick attack into wing attack!" Pidgeotto launched at the poison pin pokémon, its whole body glowing white from using both attacks. However, Elliot had another strategy in mind.

"Horn drill."

"Niiidoooorinoooo!" The poison type's horn started glowing, and as pidgeotto was about to make contact, it leapt into the air and slammed its horn on the bird pokémon, also knocking it out.

"That's a one-hit KO move, Niko. Learn you pokémon moves, and maybe you'll stand a chance," Elliot said, his face almost emotionless.

Niko was clearly agitated now, and his friends could see it. Fay mentioned that this would happen occasionally at school when he would argue with some of their other friends. He tended to have a short temper sometimes, and when that happened, he essentially lost his mind on everyone he was around. Then, he would go quiet and not speak to anyone. This was one of those times.

"AGHH! Fine! You want to fight with pokémon types, then we can do that! Kadabra, come on out! Use confusion now!"

"Return, nidorino," Elliot said.

"YOU HAVE TO BE KIDDING ME!" Niko screamed, "YOU COWARD!"

"Go, scyther! Use quick attack on kadabra!"

"Alright kadabra, let's try and stop—" Before Niko could finish his command, scyther was already upon the psi pokémon, slamming into it and following up with a slash attack. "Teleport!" Kadabra responded, retreating to the opposite end of the field and using confusion to temporarily halt the mantis pokémon. However, it didn't quite work out that way—scyther broke through the attack and used wing attack to finish off the psi pokémon.

"C'mon, Niko, how did you manage to get three badges with this team? You need to learn a lot before you can even think about beating Sabrina," Elliot said, returning scyther for nidorino once more.

Niko sighed, still agitated. All he had left was magnemite, his newest and by far least experienced pokémon. Sending it out, he commanded it to use thundershock, but the attack barely phased the nidorino, who used a single double-edge and slammed it into the same fence that squirtle had been launched into only a dozen or so minutes prior. Magnemite fainted.

Niko returned the magnet pokémon and walked off, clearly in distress over the battle. "Oh, c'mon Niko, it was just one battle!" Elliot said, feeling a little bad about defeating his opponent so easily. It didn't matter, though. Niko walked up the hill and clearly wanted to be alone.

"Elliot…" Fay said, looking over at the young trainer, pulling out a pokéball, "I'll battle you now. Two-vs-two, alright?" Elliot nodded.

Over the hill, Niko sat up against a tree trunk and looked at the four pokéballs sitting beside him. _Elliot's right…how can I hope to beat Sabrina, if I can't even beat an opponent with a type disadvantage to me? I need to keep training. But…what if my training isn't even good enough? What if I fail?_ He sat there for the entirety of Fay's battle with Elliot. During the battle, Brittany and JJ each took turns going over and trying to comfort him, but neither seemed to succeed in doing so. Niko was in a bad place at this point. He hadn't lost a battle before, much less one where he went 0-4 like he did against Elliot.

Meanwhile, back on the battlefield…

"Gyarados, let's use water gun!" Fay commanded as the atrocious pokémon launched a burst of water from its mouth at scyther, who skillfully dodged and used slash at gyarados' neck. The water type crashed onto the ground. That was Fay's first pokémon eliminated. "Alright then, go mankey! Use low kick!"

Mankey successfully landed a kick on scyther, who then retaliated with a wing attack which launched the pig monkey directly into the ground. Mankey, exhausted, got back up and used karate chop on scyther's head before taking another wing attack to the stomach, which defeated the fighting type.

"Nice job, Fay, your mankey is pretty strong y'know," Elliot said, returning scyther. "I think you can beat Sabrina, but just don't use mankey, alright? She uses psychic types."

"Yeah, I know Elliot. We've been travelling to Saffron for quite some time now. Anyways, we have to get going. Where are you headed?"

"I'm off to Fuchsia City. There's a poison-type gym there, and I hope to get my seventh badge that way."

Fay nodded and waved to Elliot as he, Brittany, and JJ all walked up the hill to meet up with Niko, only to find him passed out under the tree. Brittany got down and shook him lightly to wake him up.

"Hey buddy," Fay asked as Niko slowly awoke, "You feeling alright?" Niko sat up, rubbing his eyes and nodding softly.

"Yeah, I'm alright," The trainer said quietly, "I just need to keep training."

"That's the spirit!" Brittany said cheerfully, "Now let's head off to Saffron City!"

"Yeah, Niko, we're almost there anyways!" JJ added as he helped Niko get back on his feet.

"Hey, Fay," Niko asked as they began walking. His friend turned to him curiously. "How do you know Elliot anyways?"

"Oh, we're family actually. He's several years younger than me, but we both grew up together in Pallet Town."

Niko mouthed a silent "ah" as Fay then engaged in a conversation with Brittany about some of the things that they could do in Saffron City once they arrive. The four then began walking off to their next destination, with a new rival on their journeys to keep an eye out for.


	23. Episode 23: Punching practice at Dojo!

**Episode 23: Punching practice in the Dojo!**

"Wow! Saffron City is enormous!" JJ exclaimed as the four headed into the city, now re-opened since their last attempt at entering nearly two months prior. "Where do you guys think the pokémon center is?"

"Dude…you're the one with the maps for everything. Shouldn't _we_ be asking _you_?" Fay replied in a snarky tone. JJ scratched his short, curly blond hair as he laughed nervously. He pulled out the pamphlet (having Brittany hold growlithe while he did so) and flipped through to the section on Saffron City.

"It's…on the other side of the city…but hey! We can do some sightseeing on the way, right?" Fay, Niko, and Brittany all nodded as they continued through Saffron.

While passing through, they saw a few shops, a tutor's house that read " **psychic trainer** ," and the Silph Company's headquarters. Fay noted that Silph Company created the most powerful type of pokéball—the masterball, but discontinued the line after problems arose regarding Team Rocket trying to steal the prototype and blueprints for it. They also noticed the interregional rail system being reopened after the power outage. As they passed by, JJ mentioned that the rail system was a fast way of travelling to Goldenrod City in the Johto region.

"Have you ever been there, JJ?" Brittany inquired. JJ shook his head in response.

"No, not really. I would like to go there someday, though."

"Same here. I've heard they've got some really cool history there," Niko added to JJ's response.

"Maybe we could all visit it someday!" Brittany suggested. Niko, Fay, and JJ all nodded in indication that they would be up for it.

Eventually, they reached the pokémon center. Sitting down for lunch and healing up their pokémon, they did their usual ritual of strategizing for the next gym match. As they were, they overheard some other trainers talking in the booth behind them.

"Hey, haven't you heard? Bruno of the Elite 4 is going to make an appearance at his dojo today!" One of them said excitedly.

"Woah, no way! I'm a huge fan of him! Do you think he will be giving trainers lessons today?"

The first trainer shrugged. "Hopefully, I've heard he's a pretty tough teacher, though."

Niko and Fay turned around to address the two trainers. "Say, where is the dojo?" Fay wondered.

"Oh, it's on the other side of town, near Sabrina's gym. Why, you think you want to go there?" Fay nodded his head. "Awesome! Hope to see you guys there!"

"Likewise, thanks!" Fay said as he turned back to the group with Niko. "Looks like I know what we're doing today," he said happily as he finished his noodle soup.

"Wow, we get to meet another Elite 4 member…that's really exciting!" JJ said happily as he fed growlithe.

"Well, if we get a chance to fight Bruno, then Fay should go. I fought Agatha last time…or, well, tried to," Niko said before continuing to eat a salad. Fay nodded in thanks as he finished his lunch.

The group then walked across the city once more to the fighting dojo. As one might expect, the inside looked just like any ordinary exercise gym. It had weights off in the corner, a line of punching bags hanging from the ceiling running along the left side of the room and, of course, every fighting type pokémon native to Kanto training side-by-side with their trainers.

Fay and Niko walked across the room to a rather large man in a karate outfit stretching on the ground. He looked up at the two trainers as he finished stretching.

"Hoo-hah! What can I do for you two young men?" He said in a booming voice that resembled Lt. Surge's.

"Hi, my name is Fay, and this is Niko, and we're here to train before our gym battle with Sabrina."

"Hoo! Sabrina is difficult! Well, I'd be happy to help you men out! Let's get started! My name's Bruno, by the way," The Elite 4 member said, shaking both Niko and Fay's hands, nearly breaking them in the process. Bruno led the two to a nearby punching bag and pulled out a pokéball. "Go, machamp!" Out came a gray, muscular, four-armed creature who was a little shorter than Fay. Niko pulled out his pokédex:

" _Machamp, the superpower pokémon. One arm alone can move mountains. Using all four arms, this pokémon fires off awesome punches_."

"Alright, what pokémon do you want help training with?" Bruno asked. Fay sent out mankey and electabuzz, while Niko sent out bulbasaur. "Interesting choices, fellas. So…Fay, was it? It seems like you want to learn some punching moves, correct? And…Niko, how could I help your bulbasaur?"

"I want to work on its speed. It knows stun spore and vine whip, and I would like to hopefully increase the release of stun spore so I can then go in for the kill."

"I see," Bruno began, "Well, Niko, speed is great and all, but it isn't everything in battling. Neither is brute force, of course, but a combination of both. Watch here. Machamp, use mega punch!" The machamp's front left fist started glowing white as it rammed it into a punching bag, launching it through the wall and nearly into the next building over. "Combination of strength and speed. But I can imagine bulbasaur is built more for speed, but we'll see what we can do. Now, Fay…"

"Yes, Bruno?" Fay said as he, electabuzz, and mankey all looked up at the Elite 4 member.

"I'm going to teach each of your pokémon a unique move. Electabuzz has the unique ability to learn the move thunder punch, and mankey can learn either mega punch or mega kick. Do you have a preference?" Fay shook his head, but mankey started throwing its fist in the air, indicating it wanted to learn mega punch. "Hoo-hah! I guess mankey chose for you, then! Alright, Niko I'm going to get you started on a few exercises and then I'll get back to you, Fay."

Bruno escorted Niko to a battlefield outside and explained how bulbasaur might be able to increase its release speed. A good warm-up exercise is to just stretch and contract the bulb muscles, as if it were about to use stun spore. This way, once the release is about to happen, the spores will flow easier. He then walked back inside to a set of punching bags and worked with Fay.

"Alright young man, machamp here will help mankey learn mega punch. I want to focus specifically on electabuzz, since thunder punch is a far more difficult move to learn. Go, hitmonchan!"

Out of Bruno's second pokéball came a pokémon who looked like it was about to box, since it had big red boxing gloves on its fists. "Hitmonchan, let's show electabuzz how to use thunder punch, alright? Show them what it looks like, first," Hitmonchan's right fist started generating electricity as it began to glow bright yellow and slammed into the punching bag. "It looks easy, but here's the trick: electabuzz has to learn how to redirect its electricity into its fist. Again, easier said than done. Try it," Bruno instructed.

Fay turned to electabuzz, a pokémon he had hardly trained with since catching. The electric pokémon gave him a cold look, but turned to the punching bag and attacked it with his fist. The bag hardly moved.

"C'mon, electabuzz! Let's put some more effort into it!" Fay said in an encouraging tone. "You can do it!"

Electabuzz punched the bag again, this time with some more force. Bruno clapped, and instructed electabuzz to try channeling the electricity into the fist before punching. To demonstrate, Bruno got into a fighting stance, and with one hand showed how energy moved through a human's body, and explained that it would be similar for pokémon like hitmonchan and electabuzz, who are more humanoid in nature. After demonstrating the path energy takes, he released a punch into the bag, causing it to move around violently.

Fay did a similar motion, feeling the energy flow through his body before punching the bag, also knocking it around violently. Electabuzz now tried, this time accidentally using thunderbolt and nearly shocking his trainer. Bruno told electabuzz to keep punching the bag until it got the form down correctly. Turning to mankey, Fay and Bruno noticed that it was a natural at learning this new move. Mankey nearly had it down, its fist glowing white but disappearing just as it hit the bag.

"Mankey, you have to continue focusing on the opponent through to the end. I noticed that your gaze leaves the punching bag as the punch is about to land. Try focusing on the bag the whole time."

The pig monkey took the advice and was able to successfully land the mega punch, knocking the bag off of its ceiling chain and onto the floor. Fay, Bruno, and machamp all clapped in approval.

Meanwhile, JJ and Brittany were off doing exercises of their own. Brittany began running on a treadmill with squirtle while JJ was finding ways to exercise with eevee and growlithe. One of which was tying a rope with a weight attached to it around their back and having them run with it. Eevee, who was a far stronger pokémon, used a heavier weight than growlithe, who was still a little puppy. Both seemed to enjoy the exercising, but were quickly exhausted, growlithe in particular. After about half an hour, both got up and walked outside to see how Niko was doing. They saw Bruno and another pokémon, hitmonlee, watching how bulbasaur was using its stun spore.

"Like I said, Niko, if you keep doing those stretches once or twice a day, bulbasaur's stun spore will significantly improve!"

"I don't have the time, though, we're facing Sabrina tomorrow…" Niko responded, looking a little downcast that he wasn't seeing immediate results.

"Training takes time, Niko, and lots of it. To be a great trainer one must master the skill of patience. If you practice every day, then you will see results. No success is immediate, after all."

"I guess you're right. Hey, bulbasaur, come on over here, you've done good today, you need to rest," Niko said as he got down on his knees and pet the seed pokémon's green bulb for a couple moments. "Thank you for the training, Bruno, I really appreciate it."

"Anything for aspiring trainers. As you can see, we get results here in my gym."

"Do you have any advice for battling Sabrina?" Niko wondered.

"Watch out for her ace pokémon, that one will throw you for a loop. Literally," Bruno replied as hitmonlee shunned a little, as if remembering that particular battle. This didn't seem to help much, as Niko looked down at bulbasaur with concern. Fay walked out with mankey, electabuzz, and machamp a minute later.

"So...? How did it go?" Bruno asked. Machamp pumped its two back fists in the air victoriously.

"Mankey seemed to have mega punch down. Electabuzz still needs to practice, but we can work on that," Fay said as he pet mankey on the head and put his other arm around electabuzz. The electric pokémon shrugged it off a little. Apparently it didn't feel like being touched, either at that particular moment or at all. "How did you do, Niko?"

"Bulbasaur and I have some exercises that we can work on, but otherwise just fine. Glad things are going well for you!" Niko said, standing up and returning bulbasaur.

Bruno looked at both of the trainers for a moment, then scratched his chin, as if lost in thought. Then an idea popped into his head.

"Hey, before you fellas head off, I have something for you two," The Elite 4 member said, running back into the dojo with machamp. The group walked back in after him, unsure of what was happening. They then met up with Bruno, who was at his desk typing something on a computer. After a couple of minutes, he ran over to a pokéball transporter machine just as two pokéballs showed up in instant succession of the other. Bruno picked up both and turned to Fay and Niko.

"In these pokéballs are two fighting type pokémon—hitmonchan and hitmonlee. As a token of my gratitude and good luck, I ask if you would like to take one each," Niko pulled out his pokédex to examine the two pokémon:

" _Hitmonchan, the punching pokémon. While apparently doing nothing, it fires punches in lightning fast volleys that are impossible to see_."

" _Hitmonlee, the kicking pokémon. When in a hurry, its legs lengthen progressively. It runs smoothly with extra-long, loping strides_."

Niko thought for a moment before deciding. He felt like hitmonchan would be the better choice for him, since he wanted to focus on speed in his battles. And so that is what he chose. Fay then chose hitmonlee.

"Excellent choices. I hope they take you both very far in your journeys," Bruno said as he sat back down in his desk chair.

"And thank you, Bruno. You were a huge help today," Fay responded.

"Yeah, we overheard that you were a pretty tough teacher. Guess we were wrong," Niko added, with a slight chuckle. Bruno did not seem surprised at the criticism.

"Trainers who think I'm too tough already have enough problems to deal with, the way I see it. Whoever you heard that from probably failed one of my training classes," The Elite 4 member said rather nonchalantly. "Anyways, you four are more than welcome to stick around as long as you want today, but keep in mind the gym will be closed for a week starting tomorrow afternoon, though. I am taking my annual trip to Mt. Mortar in Johto to train with my pokémon. Otherwise, good luck against Sabrina! As I said, it won't be easy. But if you keep up with the training you learned today, then you will both go far. Trust me."

The four thanked Bruno once more before leaving the gym, Niko and Fay with two new pokémon added to their collections. Before dinner, they both sat down individually with their new pokémon and got to know them, their movesets, and introduced them to the rest of the team. Niko's pokémon seemed rather happy to meet hitmonchan, who accidentally took a wing attack from pidgeotto out of excitement. The punching pokémon responded with a thunderpunch (which is how Niko began to learn its moveset). As for hitmonlee and Fay, charmander, mankey, and gyarados seemed to get along well with it. Electabuzz, however, did not. Fay mentioned how he would try and fix that, as well as electabuzz's general displeasure with being his pokémon.

The four then had dinner, good conversation about the day they had had, and went to bed shortly after, getting the necessary rest for the day ahead, and Niko and Fay's next gym battle.


	24. Episode 24: Battle of the moving spoons!

**Episode 24: Battle of the moving spoons!**

Niko had difficulty waking up the morning of his gym battle with Sabrina. He wasn't able to fall asleep the night before, and so when he finally did it was relatively late. Struggling out of bed, he got dressed and walked out to meet his friends in the dining area of the pokémon center.

"Well, look what the meowth dragged in…" JJ said jokingly. Niko glared at him, the same way he would glare at his dad when he made the same joke. "I'm kidding, Niko. You ready?"

"I will be once I wake up…" Niko said, sitting down for a moment before getting right back up and going to grab some food.

"He looks really tired," Brittany said, looking a little concerned.

"He probably didn't sleep well. With all of the difficulties he has had in training his pokémon, I can imagine its put some stress on him," Fay responded in an attempt to reassure his brunette friend. Niko came back a couple minutes later with a large plate of food, releasing his five pokémon to also feed them. However, he realized his pokéballs were missing.

"Where did they…?" Niko asked groggily.

"We fed your pokémon for you, here ya go," JJ said, reaching into his backpack and pulling out five pokéballs. Niko took them and pocketed them as he sat back down and began eating.

About an hour later, the group walked across town once again, passing by the dojo on the way. The Saffron City gym looked the most "normal" of all the gyms; it was just an ordinary building that didn't look nearly as extravagant as, say, the Pewter gym. Walking inside, however, was a different story.

The entrance to the gym was through a second pair of double door, this time gold plated. The four walked inside, now to see a large room lit with purple lights running down the field in intervals of about ten feet, all pointing at a slight angle towards the center of the ceiling. At the end was a dark-haired woman playing with a silver spoon. She looked up, smirking for a moment before getting out of her chair.

"I foresaw you two showing up," She said. "I am Sabrina of the Saffron gym. You want to challenge me, don't you? Fay? Niko?"

"Uhh…yeah. Yeah we do!" Niko responded, straightening up a little in response.

"And Fay wants to go first, is that correct?" Sabrina asked. They hadn't thought about it yet, but shrugged and went with it. Fay nodded his head. The gym leader then approached her end of the field while Fay approached his. Niko, Brittany, JJ, and growlithe all went over to the stands to watch. "This will be a three-vs-three pokémon battle. Whenever you are ready, challenger."

"Alright then, gyarados, I choose you!" Fay said, sending out his water type pokémon.

"Mr. Mime, time to fight," Sabrina said calmly. Niko pulled out his pokédex:

" _Mr. Mime, the barrier pokémon. Always practices its pantomime act. It makes enemies believe something exists that really doesn't_."

"Gyarados, let's start off with water gun!"

"Mr. Mime, light screen."

The water gun collided with an invisible shield protecting the barrier pokémon. Mr. Mime then followed up with a confusion attack to halt the atrocious pokémon where it sat. Fay then commanded a second water gun, which nearly hit Mr. Mime who responded with confusion followed up by a second light screen.

 _What does light screen do…?_ Fay thought for a moment. _Isn't it like the move barrier, but for specific types of moves…?_ Then he had an idea.

"Gyarados, use bite!" The atrocious pokémon opened its mouth and crunched onto the light screen, shattering it into pieces and then following up with a water gun close up to Mr. Mime.

"Confusion, Mr. Mime."

The barrier pokémon then shifted its hands in a circular fashion, halting gyarados once more before following up with a doubleslap to the atrocious pokémon's face. It then set up another light screen before gyarados had time to act.

"Gyarados, use bite once more!"

"Not so fast, Mr. Mime, confusion!"

Gyarados ended up outspeeding Mr. Mime, breaking the barrier and tackled the barrier pokémon. Fay then commanded one final water gun to finish it off.

"Mr. Mime is unable to battle, gyarados wins! Sabrina may now send out her second pokémon."

"Venomoth, I choose you!" Sabrina said, a little louder this time. Niko once again pulled out his pokédex:

" _Venomoth, the poison moth pokémon. The Powdery scales on its wings are hard to remove. They also contain poison that leaks out on contact_."

"Why is a psychic gym leader using a poison type?" Brittany asked.

"Guess it has psychic abilities as well?" Niko said, shrugging.

"Return, gyarados. Go, charmander!" Fay directed. "Use ember!"

"Psybeam, venomoth!"

The two attacks collided in a spectacular explosion of fire and psychic energy. However, it wasn't just some performance, as charmander went in for a close-range slash attack. Venomoth and Sabrina were ready for it, though.

"Stun spore."

The yellow spores emitted from venomoth's rapidly flapping wings hit charmander, who crashed into the ground after landing its slash. The fire type couldn't move as it was hit with a barrage of psybeams.

"Charmander you can do this! Endure the attacks and we'll come out stronger!" Fay said encouragingly. The lizard pokémon got up slowly, the effects of the stun spore beginning to wear off. "Great! Use ember repeatedly!"

"Chaaaar!" Charmander yelled as it shot fireball after fireball at the poison moth pokémon, who dodged most of them before being hit directly in the face by the last few. Sabrina then called for her pokémon to use poisonpowder.

Venomoth started flapping its wings again, emitting a purple powder in charmander's direction. The attack hit head on, and the fire type howled in pain. Fay, trying to end this before the lizard pokémon fainted, commanded another series of ember attacks.

What happened next was similar to an ember. Charmander burst so many embers that it looked like it was a constant stream of fire from its maw. Venomoth was enveloped in the flames as they spun around it. Charmander, seeing the opportunity, ran through the fire and slashed at the poison moth, knocking it through the fire spin and onto the ground in front of Sabrina.

"Venomoth is unable to battle, charmander wins! Sabrina will now send out her final pokémon."

"Alakazam, come on out!" The gym leader yelled. Out of the final pokéball came a pokémon that looked similar to kadabra, but with two spoons, no tail, and a much longer mustache. Niko once more pulled out his pokédex:

" _Alakazam, the psi pokémon. Its brain can outperform a super-computer. Its intelligence quotient is said to be 5,000_."

"So…this is what kadabra evolves into…" Niko said as Fay continued the battle.

"Charmander, let's see what this guy's got! Use fire spin!"

The lizard pokémon, still in pain from the poisonpowder, sent out one more fire spin. However, alakazam thrust its two spoons forward, halting the fire and sending it immediately back to charmander. The fire type roared in pain as the psychic-enhanced fire did considerable damage, immediately knocking it out.

"Charmander is unable to battle, alakazam wins. Fay will send out his next pokémon."

"Gyarados, I choose you!" Fay said as his water type entered the field. "Let's use bite!"

"Not so fast, Fay. Alakazam, use psychic!"

Alakazam's eyes started to glow as it channeled psychic energy through its spoon and over to gyarados, lifting up the atrocious pokémon and throwing it into the stands opposite the group. Gyarados crashed into them, but was able to get back up and unleash a water gun that succeeded in hitting the psi pokémon. However, it was short lived when alakazam then used psychic once more to send gyarados high into the air and crashing back into the ground.

"Gyarados is unable to battle, alakazam wins! Fay will now send out his third and final pokémon."

"Electabuzz, come on out!" Fay ordered as the electric pokémon stood in front of him, ready to fight. "Use thunderbolt!"

Electabuzz unleashed a burst of electric energy as alakazam retaliated with reflect, which essentially minimized the power of the attack. Fay then commanded Electabuzz to follow up with thunderpunch, which broke through the barrier but was met with a psybeam directly in the chest. Electabuzz fell on its back as alakazam then used psychic to launch it into the air and back onto the ground.

The electric pokémon stood up, albeit with difficulty, and used thunderbolt once more, only to be met with another reflect and another psybeam. At this point, it seemed terribly frustrated with its inability to attack alakazam directly, and used quick attack without Fay's orders. The attack landed as it led with its shoulder into alakazam, using a thunderbolt immediately after. The psi pokémon, taken aback by the attack but still very much in the battle, started glowing white.

It was recovering.

Understandably, Fay and electabuzz were clearly agitated with this move, and Fay once more commanded electabuzz to use thunderpunch.

The electric pokémon's right fist began to glow a yellow color, with small electric sparks emitting from it. It then rushed at alakazam as it was about to finish recovering, and socked it in the face. Electabuzz then followed up with another thunderpunch, this time on the other side of the face, and finally used a close-range quick attack to rush alakazam into the wall behind Sabrina.

"Alakazam is unable to battle, electabuzz wins! And the victory goes to Fay from Pallet Town!"

Fay walked up to electabuzz. "Hey, buddy, nice job. We couldn't have won without you mastering thunderpunch," The trainer said as he reached out to shake his pokémon's hand. Electabuzz looked suspicious at first, but ultimately shook its trainer's hand, sending a small shock through Fay's palm as prank. The trainer understandably yelped in pain, eliciting a laugh from electabuzz.

Niko then traded places with Fay while Sabrina went back behind the room to heal her pokémon for the next battle. The challenger looked at his first choice and thought about the types of pokémon that Sabrina uses. Hitmonchan wouldn't be the logical choice here, and neither would bulbasaur. However, at the same time he didn't want to use magnemite, who wasn't ready for a gym battle. So the choices were limited for him, should he choose to stick with a type-based strategy like Elliot.

Sabrina returned to her end of the field as Niko stood at his. The judge then ordered the battle to start whenever both trainers sent out their first pokémon.

"Mr. Mime, come on out!"

"Pidgeotto, I choose you!" Niko commanded, sending out the bird pokémon to do battle with the psychic type. "Let's try that new combination that we practiced! Quick attack and follow up with a wing attack!"

The bird pokémon launched like a rocket at Mr. Mime, who put up a barrier to defend itself; Pidgeotto shattered the defensive attack a struck the psychic type in the stomach, knocking both of them into the same wall alakazam landed in.

"Yes! Great job, pidgeotto!" Niko said encouragingly. The flying type turned to its trainer to return the encouragement as Mr. Mime used confusion to toss it across the field. Pidgeotto responded by using a powerful gust attack to knock the barrier pokémon off guard, and then use the quick attack/wing attack combo again, ultimately defeating the barrier pokémon.

"Mr. Mime is unable to battle, pidgeotto wins! Sabrina may now send out her second pokémon."

"Go, alakazam!" The gym leader said, in a break from what seemed to be her typical strategy.

Fay, JJ, and Brittany all looked at the battle nervously, realizing the uphill battle Niko might be facing. "Why alakazam, though?" JJ asked.

"Because venomoth has a disadvantage against flying types. I think Sabrina is trying to avoid that match-up, so she sent out alakazam to clean up."

"But she can't substitute as a gym leader," JJ responded.

"I think she knows that," Fay said matter-of-factly.

"Alright pidgeotto, alakazam is pretty strong, but we can beat it! Let's use quick att—no!" Niko exclaimed as pidgeotto was being thrown around the battlefield by the psychic attack. He clenched his teeth in frustration that his fastest pokémon was being tossed around like a rag doll. "Pidgeotto you have to break through this! Use gust!"

The bird pokémon attempted to flap its wings aggressively in order to break through the psychic, but alakazam was far more powerful. It then slammed pidgeotto into the ground, effectively defeating it.

"Pidgeotto is unable to battle, alakazam wins! Niko may now send out his second pokémon."

"Dammit…" Niko said under his breath. Sabrina had completely ruined his strategy. "Alright then, let's go kadabra! Use confusion!"

"Kadabra? Please…alakazam, use reflect to block it," The gym leader said dismissively as alakazam protected itself with a reflective barrier to minimize the effects of confusion. Kadabra struggled to lift it off of the ground at all, and only succeeded in temporarily confusing its opponent, as alakazam attempted to use psybeam but missed and hit the stands that it had thrown gyarados into earlier. "Alakazam, use recover!"

"NO!" Niko screamed in response. "Kadabra! Use confusion at full power!"

The psi pokémon's eyes glowed as it tried to lift alakazam into the air while recovering, but it ultimately didn't do much damage as its opponent proceeded to use its own psychic attack as soon as it recovered, picking up kadabra with its two spoons and throwing it upwards into the ceiling, making a large dent. Kadabra crashed into the ground, creating a cloud of dust and fainting.

"Kadabra is unable to battle, alakazam wins! Niko will send out his third and final pokémon."

 _Are you kidding me?_ Niko thought. _No…I can't lose. Not now._ He pulled out one more pokéball. _You're all I've got, buddy_. "Bulbasaur, I choose you!"

The seed pokémon shot out of the red and white pokéball and immediately released a stun spore, successfully hitting alakazam. However, Sabrina herself did not seem fazed by the move, and waited it out as bulbasaur proceeded to slam green vines across the psi pokémon's face. Once the spores wore off, she ordered another recover. Alakazam started healing itself while bulbasaur launched another stun spore to paralyze it again. Sabrina and alakazam saw this strategy a mile away, and while the psychic type was healing, it used psychic to throw the spores back at bulbasaur. While not paralyzing the grass type, some of the spores managed to get into its eyes, which turned out to be quite painful.

"Now, finish it off with psybeam!" Sabrina commanded. Alakazam moved its two spoons together as it generated a beam of psychic energy and launched it at bulbasaur. The seed pokémon obviously couldn't see it coming.

"Bulbasaur is unable to battle, alakazam wins! The victory goes to Leader Sabrina!"

Niko ran over to bulbasaur, who was clearly in pain. He got down on his knees and began to cradle his starter pokémon. "Bulbasaur…I'm so sorry! You did such a great job and…I failed you. I failed you," He said to the now unconscious seed pokémon.

Fay received the marsh badge from Sabrina while Niko sat there with bulbasaur, accompanied by JJ, Brittany, and growlithe. The puppy pokémon tried licking Niko's face to cheer him up, but failed. Fay reached down to help his friend up, but Niko managed to stand on his own and began to walk out of the gym, bulbasaur still in his arms.

Back at the pokémon center, Niko watched as Nurse Joy tried to heal bulbasaur. "Is he going to be alright, nurse?" He asked worriedly.

"Bulbasaur should be fine. The spores have blinded him, but it should only be temporary. Not any more than a few days to a week at most. Don't worry, though, it'll recover."

Niko turned away for a moment before looking back at his pokémon. "I'll come back for it tomorrow, is that okay?" Nurse Joy nodded before bringing the trainer in for a hug.

Walking over to the booth for dinner, he saw his friends quietly eating a late lunch with their pokémon. JJ offered him some of his fries as he sat down, but Niko denied them, saying that he simply wasn't hungry.

"So what's the diagnosis? Is bulbasaur going to be okay?" Fay asked.

"He'll be temporarily blind for anywhere between a few days and a week. That's great," Niko said, forming a fist and slamming it onto the table.

"Niko…" Brittany quietly said, covering his fist with her hand. Niko calmed down for a moment, before going and grabbing some food of his own.


	25. Episode 25: The Flame pokémon!

**Episode 25: The Flame pokémon!**

The group left the Saffron City gym with, well, mixed results. On one hand, Fay obtained his marsh badge. On the other, Niko lost, and left with bulbasaur temporarily blinded as a result.

"Anyways, should we wait until Niko can re-challenge Sabrina before we leave?" JJ asked, pulling out the pamphlet.

"JJ…shut up, man," Fay said, "Can't you see Niko doesn't feel up for talking?" Fay said as he gripped his friend's shoulder.

"No, let's talk about this, actually," Niko said, looking up from his food, "Where's the next gym, JJ?"

"It looks like it's in Celadon City, which is only a day's walk from here. Grass gym, it seems like."

"Well, that shouldn't be too difficult, right Niko? But I think we should wait until he wins his marsh badge before we head off," Brittany said, trying to come to her friend's defense.

"No, let's go. I'd rather not keep you guys waiting. We can head to Celadon in the morning, and we'll probably make it there by nighttime," Niko said quietly.

"You sure?" Fay wondered. Niko nodded, and explained that it wouldn't be fair to Fay if they had to pause their journey just so he could re-match Sabrina. Plus, he wanted to keep moving on anyways. That was the only way he would get over this loss.

Fay, JJ, and Brittany all smiled at the revelation. The three finished their food and went out to tour the city. Niko decided to stay back, his pokémon choosing to stay with him. He walked with his four remaining companions out to a nearby park. Leaning back against the bench, Niko looked up at the sky for a moment. As he did so, magnemite lay on his lap; Hitmonchan to his left; kadabra to his right; and pidgeotto perched on the back of the bench.

"I'm really sorry if I failed you guys," Niko began, much to the shock of his pokémon, "To be honest, I don't know what I'm doing most of the time. This whole training business—its way harder than I thought. You know, I really just wanted to go out and see the world. I've been cooped up in Pallet Town for so long. My family never went on vacations, partly because Jake was too young and my dad was always busy with his research.

"But, even though seeing the world is great, I want to be something in it. I want to make something of myself. And when I fail…I guess I just see that as a setback, even though in my heart I know it isn't. It's a mental block, and it's very hard to overcome," He said. His pokémon were all staring at him, listening intently. "Oh, who am I kidding!? I can't just think about myself! I have to think about you guys. You're the only reason I've gotten as far as I—we—have. I've been so selfish recently, and I think that's why bulbasaur is blind…" Niko then put his head in his hands in frustration.

Hitmonchan, his newest addition, put its boxing glove for a hand on Niko's shoulder. Kadabra did the same with its spoon-free hand. Magnemite cuddled up on his lap, and pidgeotto rested a single talon on his shoulder next to kadabra. The trainer lifted his head up and looked at his team.

"Thanks, guys. I promise I won't let you guys down again," He got up, and the five—trainer and pokémon—decided to go through the city, trying to find their friends.

Niko reunited with the rest of the group a few hours later. Apparently, something had gone down at the rail station with Team Rocket:

- _Three hours prior_ -

"Do you think Niko will be alright, Fay? You seem to know him best," Brittany asked concernedly.

"Yeah, I really think so…but it might take a while, and his feelings won't disappear quickly," The black-haired trainer responded.

"They never do…" Brittany added. The three were walking through the city, trying to find something to do while they waited for bulbasaur to be released from the pokémon center. They took a quick tour of the Silph Company in the center of the city, and as they were heading back to the pokémon center they decided to check out the rail station, since they had mentioned the day prior that they would eventually travel to the Johto region. As they were walking in, a man in a black suit was sprinting back out of the station with some men and women yelling after him.

Fay walked up to one of them, only to be told that they had been robbed by Team Rocket. JJ, growlithe in his arms, immediately ran off. Fay and Brittany followed.

They found a member of Team Rocket catching his breath in an alleyway a few blocks from the train station. Once the grunt saw them, he immediately began sprinting again. Fay was quicker, or rather, hit pokémon were.

"Hitmonlee! Run after that grunt! Trip him with your double kick!" Fay commanded as his newest pokémon bounded off for its opponent, catching it within seconds and causing the grunt to fall to the floor. Looking up, the grunt was now circled by Fay, JJ, and Brittany. Minutes later, they were joined by Officer Jenny and her squad, who arrested the grunt and drove back to the police station.

- _Present time_ —

Niko looked at the three as they finished their story, in awe that they had a far more exciting day than he had. He then began asking how Silph was. Fay, who was a huge fan of technology, started regaling his friend in some of the products that he had seen, specifically on some of the new pokéballs. One of them currently in the planning stages was a pokéball specifically for heavy pokémon. He said that the researchers had been helped by a pokéball designer over in Johto, and decided to mass produce his ideas.

The gang then grabbed dinner back at the pokémon center just as bulbasaur was released. Niko had to help his seed pokémon eat, and returned him to his pokéball afterwards to let it rest. The group, after a long and tiring day, all went to bed relatively early. The following day would be back on the road, this time to Celadon City.

* * *

While on the road, Niko decided to train with hitmonchan for a bit, while Fay practiced with charmander. Since the next gym leader specialized in grass types, this made sense. Niko knew that hitmonchan could learn firepunch, and Fay decided that the two of them could help each other—charmander would improve on its fire spin, and hitmonchan would work on firepunch.

"Alright hitmonchan," Niko said as he stood next to his pokémon, "charmander is going to light your gloves on fire, and you're gonna start punching! We need to emulate what this move is going to look like."

"Niko…are you sure this is going to work?" Fay asked curiously.

"Of course! There's no way this will fail!" Niko responded cheerfully.

Charmander then used ember directly at the punching pokémon's fists. As expected, they lit up on fire, but it spread to the rest of hitmonchan's body. The fighting type started running around frantically, trying to put out the flames until squirtle dosed it with its water gun. Hitmonchan glared at its trainer, unsure of this new technique.

"Eheh…sorry, hitmonchan…" Niko said, scratching his brown hair nervously.

"How about we just battle instead, Niko?" Fay inquired. His friend nodded in response. "Alright, let's go charmander!"

"Hitmonchan, use comet punch!" Niko commanded as the punching pokémon rushed at its opponent, gloves covering its face as it began to launch a series of lightning quick punches. Charmander, having worked on Fay's dodging exercise for months now, was able to dodge all of them successfully and unleashed an ember in retaliation. The fireball hit hitmonchan's glove and the fighting type got low and socked charmander in the face, and then uppercut it with the other glove.

The lizard pokémon flew backwards in the air, crashing into the grass below it. Hitmonchan then leapt into the air and slammed its glove into charmander's stomach, causing the fire type to unleash a torrent of flames in response. The fighting type blocked the fire with its glove as it stood back up on its feet and, now with its fist successfully on fire, ran up and punched charmander one final time.

As charmander struggled to get back up, Fay did his best to encourage his starter pokémon. As he was able to direct another fire spin, charmander began to glow. It grew twice its original size, and when everyone was able to get a better look at its new form, realized its skin was a darker red, and it had a horn-like protrusion on the back of its head. Niko and Fay both pulled out their pokédexes:

" _Charmeleon, the flame pokémon. Tough fights could excite this pokémon. When excited, it may blow out bluish-white flames._ "

Fay, now very impressed and significantly more fired up, order charmeleon to use slash. Hitmonchan dodged and landed a firepunch in the flame pokémon's side. Charmeleon responded with a fire spin that engulfed hitmonchan and ultimately defeated it.

"Hitmonchan, you did a great job, thanks!" Niko said, returning his pokémon. "Hey, Fay! Nice job too!"

"Thanks, Niko. And thank you too, charmeleon!" Fay said, patting his new pokémon on its horn. "Now we're definitely going to get our next badge!"

"Hey trainers!" Brittany called over to her friends, "Dinner is ready!"

Fay and Niko ran over to their little campsite to have a well-deserved meal. The following morning, they would make it to Celadon City, and the site of the next gym battle for the two trainers. With a new addition to their team, and a new resolve to continue battling, Fay and Niko were more determined than ever to succeed in their next challenge.


	26. Episode 26: Too many choices, eevee!

**Episode 26: Too many choices, eevee!**

Celadon City is a beautiful city. The group quickly realized this when they walked in and felt a light breeze immediately lift any poor spirits they may have been in. As they searched for the pokémon center, JJ was listing off some of the attractions in Celadon.

"There's a department store…game corner… pokémon gym…guys, this is where you spend a ton of money!" JJ exclaimed.

"It's also where Team Rocket's base used to be," Fay mentioned coldly.

"Well…yeah, that's true as well," JJ said as he put the pamphlet away. "Anyways, you guys want to check out some of the city before the gym battle? It'll be exciting!"

"Yeah, why not? It'll give us some relaxation time. I feel like it's been a tense few days recently," Brittany responded cheerfully. "But let's head to the pokémon center first and heal up Niko and Fay's pokémon. They did have an intense battle yesterday."

The group agreed, and walked a few more blocks before reaching the pokémon center. There, Nurse Joy gave them some pointers on the game corner, since that's where they planned on heading first. Gambling can get addicting, and if they didn't play their cards right, they could end up broke. The way she was explaining it, the group wondered if she was talking from experience. Not waiting around to get an answer, they headed off.

The game corner was as anyone would expect a casino to look—rows upon rows of slot machines, massive card tables, and a desk in the back where one could buy coins or exchange them for prizes (pokémon, technical machines, etc.). They walked up to the desk in the back to purchase some coins first.

"D'ya think you kids are old enough to be gambling?" The man at the desk asked. He was a big-boned, clearly balding, fellow with a five o'clock shadow and a suit on. Fay peered up at the hefty man.

"Of course we are. What would make you think otherwise?"

"Nothing, other than you kids look like kids to me."

"Sir, we're very much adults. We've just all had cosmetic work done recently in Saffron City. We're in a band, y'see, and nothing brings in the cash like youth. Nothing, ya get me?"

The man in the suit looked at Fay suspiciously, but agreed, dropping four bags of coins on the desk in between them.

"Go crazy kids, and good luck with the band. Music these days is terrible."

Fay winked at the man as they walked away. Niko, JJ, and Brittany were understandably dumbfounded, but their friend passed it off as simple acting. They decided to split up into two groups and check out some of the games, and then meet up when they've run out of coins. JJ and Niko went to one of the slots to try their hands at one of the games. Fay and Brittany went off and played one of the card games.

"So we just pull the lever and…then what?" Niko asked. He'd never seen slot machines before. He had heard of them, certainly, but never really understood how they worked.

"Yeah, and you'll see three pictures come up. That'll determine how much money you receive," JJ explained, putting some coins in and pulling the lever. The result was three voltorbs, indicating that he didn't get any money. "Drat!" JJ exclaimed, putting in more coins. "Let's try again…"

Three more voltorbs showed up.

"Here, lemme try, JJ," Niko said, replacing his curly-haired friend in the slot seat. He put a few coins in and then pulled the lever.

Three voltorbs once again.

Niko began banging his head on the slot machine out of agitation. JJ then pulled the lever once more, and three dratinis showed up, indicating that they got a fair amount of money. The two high-fived each other, and decided to play a few more rounds before meeting up with their friends.

Meanwhile, Fay and Brittany were playing the voltorb flip video game at a nearby electronic card table. The goal of the game was to keep flipping cards until they got a voltorb card, in which the game would be over (since the voltorb would "explode"). For each card, the player received coins. But if they got the voltorb card before completing the game, they would lose all of their coins. In a way, it's a game of probability. Fay seemed to understand it well enough after a few tries. Brittany, on the other hand, took a little longer.

"Fay…this game is difficult…" she said as she flipped another voltorb card, ending her fifth game. Fay, who had completed two games at this point, looked over at her and smiled.

"You'll get it. Just look at how many voltorb cards could be in each row, since that's the information you're given, and you'll have an easier time trying to figure out how many cards you can flip. Here, let me show you," Fay said as he leaned over to look at Brittany's new game. "See, in this top row you have only one voltorb card, but in the first and fifth columns there could potentially be two voltorb cards. So avoid the first and fifth cards in the top row," Fay flipped the three other cards in the top row, revealing single coins, "And you'll be fine!"

Brittany, now pretty impressed, thanked her friend and continued playing. Using the logic Fay taught her, she successfully completed a game, but immediately lost in her second one (the games get progressively more difficult with each game the player wins).

JJ and Niko walked over to see what their friends were up to, and decided to give the voltorb game a try while Fay and Brittany checked out the slot machines. Neither of them seemed to understand how to play the game, and by the time they figured it out, they were nearly out of coins. Fay and Brittany, on the other hand, pulled a fair amount of money from the slots. They never hit the jackpot, but they combined their coins and came out with a solid amount of cash.

Walking back up to the man at the desk, they exchanged their coins for cash money and left the game corner. Wondering what to do next, they decided to walk around the town looking for a nice place to eat using some of the money they had earned. They eventually found a nice looking pizza place and sat outside with some of their pokémon.

"So guys, maybe we could check out the department store after this? There are a lot of different shops we could check out that aren't found anywhere else in Kanto," JJ said as they finished lunch.

"Like what?" Brittany asked, giving squirtle a slice of her pizza.

"Well, there's a vitamin shop. I'm reading in this pamphlet that they aren't common in Kanto, since vitamins are pretty expensive. There's also a shop that sells evolution stones."

"Thinking about evolving eevee, eh JJ?" Fay asked curiously.

"I don't know what you mean, Fay?"

"Eevee can evolve into three different pokémon depending on which evolution stone you get for it—vaporeon, flareon, or jolteon," Fay explained. "Some trainers choose out of personal preference; others do so to balance out their teams; and then there are others who choose based on what the eevee wants to evolve into."

JJ looked down at the evolution pokémon, who was munching on a salad next to growlithe, and then turned back to Fay. "I haven't really thought about evolving eevee, at least not yet. I don't even know what I would want to evolve it into!"

"It's totally up to you, buddy," Fay said as he smiled at mankey, who was sharing its food with Hitmonlee, oddly enough. JJ nodded, and a couple moments later the four got up, returned their pokémon, and walked off to the department store.

The Celadon department store was enormous. It was seven floors of different types of shop. The group agreed to split up and check out some stores on their own, but reunite to do some shopping for the necessities (food, cooking materials, etc.). Niko went off to check out a book store with Brittany, Fay went to the vitamin shop, and JJ naturally went over to the store with the evolution stones.

In the store, JJ sent out eevee as they walked around, peering in at the large variety of evolution stones. As they did so, JJ talked to eevee about evolving.

"So, eevee…" he began, holding growlithe. Eevee looked up at its trainer curiously, "There are stones in here that will allow you to evolve. Are you ready for that?"

The evolution pokémon looked up at JJ and blinked a few times before shaking its head.

"Well, how would you feel if we picked out a stone right now and we could use it whenever you are ready. Does that sound good?"

Eevee nodded this time, and the three walked around and looked at the different stones. Their only real options were the fire, thunder, and water stones. Growlithe, who was also part of the decision-making process, helping choose a stone for eevee. Ultimately, they walked out of the store satisfied with their choices.

The group met up half an hour later on the third floor of the department store. Niko and Brittany each bought a book, Fay bought a couple vitamin packs, and JJ bought his evolution stone.

"Which stone did you get, JJ?" Niko asked. His friend shook his head.

"Not telling. It's only between eevee, growlithe, and me."

"Fair enough, fair enough. Can't wait to see what you chose!" Fay said semi-excitedly as the four walked off to grab some of the necessary materials.

They ended up spending more than they needed to, but it all worked out in the end. Deciding to eat at another nice restaurant (since pokémon center food gets old after a while) and spending the night in a nice hotel, the group was well rested after a long day of walking and sightseeing that they almost forgot why they were even in town in the first place—Niko and Fay's next gym battle, which they would head to first thing the following morning.


	27. Episode 27: Fighting flower with fire!

**Episode 27: Fighting flower with fire!**

The group woke up well rested the following day, ready to take on the Celadon City gym, which wasn't too far from the hotel they had been staying at.

The Celadon gym was, unsurprisingly, a large garden. As the group walked in, they noticed fields of flowers and other plants being watered by a large sprinkler system. Pokémon of all types were playing around in the fields and gardens or sleeping soundly under a nearby tree. Looking over at a group of eevee roughhousing, JJ decided to let his own pokémon go out to join in the fun. A moment later, a lady with dark hair, a red headband, and dressed in a yellow and red kimono approached them.

"Hello, what can I do for you?" She said softly.

"We're here to challenge the Celadon gym leader. Do you know if she's around?" Niko asked. The woman giggled a little, following up with a shy smile.

"That would be me, young man. My name is Erika. Are you my challenger?"

"Yes indeed! Me and my friend Fay, we will both be challenging you."

"Oh. Oh my then. Well, this will be quite an exciting day, I'm sure," Erika said. "Let's walk over to the battlefield, then. It's on the other side of the garden."

The group followed Erika over to the battlefield. JJ, realizing that it would be a long walk, beckoned eevee to follow him. The evolution pokémon, looking slightly unhappy, obeyed and pranced over to its trainer.

"So how many badges do you boys have?" Erika asked in an attempt to make small talk.

"I have three, Fay has four," Niko responded, feeling a little ashamed at having to admit it.

"Oh, I see. Well, if you can beat me then you'll be halfway to the Indigo League, that's for sure."

"We certainly intend to," Fay responded.

Erika turned around to him, smirking. For a moment it seemed almost out of character for the seemingly more introverted gym leader. "We'll see about that…" she said quietly before turning back and walking to her end of the field. Brittany, JJ, eevee, and growlithe sat on some benches near the battlefield to watch. "Now, who wants to go first?"

"Niko will go," Fay yelled over to Erika. "It's your turn, after all," He said to Niko, who nodded and moved over to his end of the field.

"This will be a three-on-three pokémon battle. Whenever you're ready, Niko," Erika said, holding out a pokéball.

"Alright then. Pidgeotto, I choose you!"

"Victreebel, come on out!" Erika quietly said as a large green, bell-shaped pokémon with leaves for arms popped out. Niko pulled out his pokédex:

" _Victreebel, the flycatcher pokémon. Lures prey with the sweet aroma of honey. Swallowed whole, the prey is melted in a day, bones and all_."

"Lovely pokémon, I see," Niko said sarcastically. "Alright pidgeotto, let's be careful! Start off with a gust!"

"Razor leaf, victreebel!" Erika commanded as the grass type launched a torrent of sharp leaves at pidgeotto, who managed to blow them away with a powerful gust of wind.

"Now pidgeotto! Use quick wing attack!" Niko ordered. The bird pokémon launched low to the ground as its body began to glow. However, as it was about to land the attack, victreebel used sleep powder. The light pink spores collided with the flying type, causing it to crash into the ground. Victreebel then used wrap to engulf the bird in its giant leaves. It then used a razor leaf up close, nearly defeating pidgeotto.

The flying type collapsed on the ground, still asleep. Panicking, Niko returned pidgeotto and sent out kadabra instead.

"Come on kadabra, let's use confusion!"

The psi pokémon then moved its spoon left and right, its eyes beginning to glow as it lifted the flycatcher pokémon into the air. The grass type tried responding with a razor leaf, but kadabra was able to throw victreebel onto the ground before it was able to do so.

"Victreebel, use poisonpowder!" Erika commanded. Her pokémon responded by unleashing purple powder from its large mouth directly at kadabra. The psi pokémon used confusion to grab the powder and redirect it back at victreebel, who swallowed it without feeling any repercussions.

"Kadabra, use teleport and follow it up with a confusion!" Niko ordered. The psychic type disappeared and reappeared behind victreebel, grabbing it with its mind and throwing it into the ceiling, as is typical of this strategy. However, victreebel had to fall back down, and did so before Niko and kadabra could react.

Victreebel's mouth landed on kadabra, nearly swallowing it.

"Sleep powder!" Erika commanded. Kadabra collapsed on the ground and, like pidgeotto, was fast asleep. "Now, use razor leaf to finish it off!"

"Kadabra is unable to battle, Victreebel wins! Niko will now send out his second pokémon," The judge yelled out.

"Alright, pidgeotto, wake up!" Niko said as he threw out his flying type's pokéball. The bird pokémon came out, having just recently woken up, only to see a barrage of sharp leaves coming straight towards it. "Dodge and use quick attack!"

"Not this again…" Erika said, a little frustrated with Niko's seeming inability to change his strategy. As pidgeotto was about to land its quick attack, the gym leader commanded a wrap attack. But Niko was faster.

"Use wing attack to break through the wrap!" He screamed. Pidgeotto's wings started to glow white, and it ripped through the ginormous leaves and struck victreebel directly below its eyes, and ultimately defeating it.

"Victreebel is unable to battle, pidgeotto wins! Erika will now send out her second pokémon!"

"Come on out, tangela!" Erika commanded. Unfamiliar with this pokémon, Niko pulled out his pokédex:

" _Tangela, the vine pokémon. The whole body is swathed with wide vines that are similar to seaweed. Its vines shake as it walks_."

"Alright pidgeotto, use wing attack again!"

"Dodge the attack, tangela, and use bind!"

The vine pokémon unleashed think purple vines and pidgeotto passed by it, grabbing it and slamming it into the ground. It then tightened its grip as the bird pokémon began to lose its breath.

"Pidgeotto!" Niko said worriedly. He had to come up with something on the fly. "Let's try wing attack!" Pidgeotto's wings started to glow, and it was able to slash through the thick vines and escape. "Now, use quick attack!"

"Use bind as it's about to strike!"

"Now, stop and use gust!" As tangela unleashed its vines, pidgeotto stopped suddenly and aggressively flapped its wings, causing the vines to fly backwards and hit tangela in the face. "Now, wing attack!"

Pidgeotto rushed downwards, slamming into tangela with its glowing wings, defeating the vine pokémon.

"Tangela is unable to battle, pidgeotto wins! Erika will now use her final pokémon."

"Vileplume, come on out!" Once more, Niko pulled out his pokédex:

" _Vileplume, the flower pokémon. Flaps its broad flower petals to scatter its poisonous pollen. The flapping sound is very loud_."

"Alright pidgeotto, same thing as last time. Let's be careful, this thing probably knows powder moves."

"Oh Niko, sweetie, how'd you guess?" Erika said sweetly, smirking as she did so. "Vileplume, use petal dance!"

"Gust!"

As vileplume launched a torrent of pink and yellow petals towards the bird pokémon, pidgeotto repelled them with another powerful gust. It then went in with a close-range attack, using the quick wing attack strategy from earlier.

"Niko, you'll never learn…" The gym leader said, shaking her head slowly. "Vileplume, use sleep powder and follow up with mega drain!"

"Dodge the powder and use gust!" Niko commanded. It was too late, as it seemed. Pidgeotto had been hit with the powder despite its attempts at dodging. It immediately crashed into the ground as vileplume absorbed whatever energy it had left.

"Pidgeotto is unable to battle, vileplume wins! Niko will now send out his final pokémon!"

"Alright buddy, it's down to the wire, let's see if we can do this. Go, hitmonchan!"

"A fighting type, eh? Interesting choice, Niko," Erika said, seeming surprised by this. "I'd have figured that by now you would have considered not using a close range pokémon."

"I have something in mind, Erika, don't you worry," Niko responded as he looked at hitmonchan in the eyes. The fighting type looked over at him, and nodded its head.

"Vileplume, use sleep powder!"

"Hitmonchan, block it with comet punch!"

"What!?" Erika said, shocked by this strategy, and especially so given that it seemed to be succeeding. Hitmonchan, keeping its gloves close to its face, started throwing punches at lightning speed and slowing moving forward towards vileplume. Once the sleep powder disappeared, Niko and hitmonchan went in for the kill.

"Firepunch!"

Hitmonchan rushed at the flower pokémon, its right fist lighting up in flames. It socked the large red petal atop the grass type, causing vileplume to fall over. It retaliated with a sleep powder, which hitmonchan then used firepunch once more to burn the powder up. The punching pokémon leapt into the air and attempted to land another firepunch on the grass type, but Erika directed it to use petal dance. Hitmonchan flew back into the air as the gust of petals lifted it up. Vileplume, now back on its feet, then added poisonpowder to the mix as hitmonchan was falling to the ground.

Seeing this attack coming, hitmonchan lit up its fist again and burned through the poisonpowder before landing a series of firepunches atop vileplume's head. After a few, the fighting type flipped backwards and back onto the ground. Vileplume collapsed.

"Vileplume is unable to battle, hitmonchan wins! And the victory goes to Niko from Pallet Town!"

"We did it, hitmonchan! We did it!" Niko said, running up to its newest pokémon and hugging it. "I'm so proud of you, you mastered firepunch!"

"Great job, Niko," Fay said as he walked up to their end of the field.

"Thanks, Fay, and good luck to you!" Niko responded, walking away from the field while Erika quickly healed up her pokémon.

A couple moments later Erika reappeared with three pokéballs in her hand. Fay held his first choice in his palm as well. The battle began shortly thereafter.

"Tangela, I choose you!"

"Come on out, hitmonlee!"

The fighting and grass types landed on the field, and Fay commanded hitmonlee to use double kick on tangela. The attack landed, but the vine pokémon wrapped a vine around the kicking pokémon and spun it around and tossed it into a tree several yards away.

"Hitmonlee, you got this, use double kick again!"

"You and Niko keep using the same strategy, close range attacks don't work against grass types! Tangela, use bind once again! And follow up with a mega drain!"

The vine pokémon once more grabbed hitmonlee as it was about to use double kick, and tossed it aside after draining some of its energy. The kicking pokémon slowly got up, unsure of what to do next. Neither did Fay, as it turned out. Then an idea came to him.

"Hitmonlee, grab onto that bench and stretch out your leg to use double kick!" Fay commanded. The kicking pokémon gripped the bench opposite JJ, Brittany, and Niko, and swung its now extended leg right into tangela, the top of the foot crashing into the convoluted mess of purple vines. Tangela shot in Fay's direction like a bullet, ultimately crashing into a tree behind him and fainting.

"Tangela is unable to battle, hitmonlee wins! Erika will now send out her second pokémon."

"Go vileplume!" The gym leader commanded, loudly this time. "Let's start off with a petal dance!"

"Kick the petals away with double kick, and then move in for a rolling kick!"

Hitmonlee rapidly repelled the torrent of petals, but as it went in for a rolling kick, vileplume followed up with a sleep powder and mega drain combo. Hitmonlee, now fast asleep, took the damage without retaliation.

"Hitmonlee is unable to battle, vileplume wins! Fay will now send out his second pokémon!"

"Charmeleon, I choose you!"

The flame pokémon erupted from the pokéball and immediately sent a flurry of embers into the air, presumably to intimidate vileplume.

"Heh, alright then, a fire type eh? Vileplume, use poisonpowder!"

"Burn it up with ember! And follow up with fire spin!"

The series of little ember attacks burnt up most of the poison powder, and the fire spin eliminated the rest of it. The flower pokémon was engulfed in a tornado of fire. Charmeleon then rushed through the flame and slashed its opponent up close, knocking it through the fire spin and ultimately defeating it.

"Vileplume is unable to battle, charmeleon wins! Erika will now send out her third pokémon!"

Erika looked concerned as she then sent out her final pokémon. "Victreebel, come on out!"

"Alright charmeleon, judging by Niko's fight, this will be more difficult. But let's give it our best shot! Start off with a fire spin!"

"Take it, victreebel," Erika ordered. The flycatcher, confused by the attack, did as was told, and allowed itself to be engulfed in flames. "Now, use poisonpowder at full power!"

It took Fay a moment to realize what was happening, but it made sense eventually. He knows that fire eliminates the powder, but also reduces the power of the flame. It's minimal reduction for sure, but that's why victreebel was emitting so much of the powder. It was getting rid of the fire that way.

Fay seemed to be the only one who got it, but he then commanded charmeleon to use slash and follow up with a close-range fire spin. As it did so, the first fire spin disappeared, and victreebel then used poisonpowder and razor leaf while the powder took effect.

Charmeleon collapsed to the ground, its health depleting fast as the poison and the sharp leaves hit the fire type. Fay quickly commanded the flame pokémon to use fire spin and light the area around it aflame, in hopes of burning the poison out of its body. As charmeleon's fire spin became more rapid, it began to turn a light blue before disappearing altogether.

"Blue fire…?" Fay said, confused at what he just saw. Thinking nothing of it, and focusing on the battle in front of him, he directed a series of embers at victreebel's face. "Now leapt into the air and use slash!"

"Not so fast, Fay," Erika said, wagging her finger. "Victreebel, use wrap!"

The flycatcher pokémon grabbed charmeleon after shaking off the embers and lifted it into the air. It then—and Erika still regrets this move everyday—dropped charmeleon into its mouth, thinking that the poison would ultimately defeat the flame pokémon.

"What…charmeleon, use ember!"

Charmeleon launched an ember into victreebel, lighting the walls of its mouth on fire as it spit out charmeleon and collapsed a moment later, defeated.

"Victreebel is unable to battle, charmeleon is the winner. And the victory goes to Fay from Pallet Town!"

"We did it charmeleon! Great job!" Fay said, high-fiving his starter pokémon.

Niko, JJ, and Brittany walked over to their victorious friend and congratulated him as Erika pulled out two rainbow-colored badges from her kimono.

"Fay, Niko, here are your rainbow badges. Congratulations, you have both earned these."

"Thank you for the match, Erika, we both enjoyed battling with you," Fay replied.

"Anytime boys. Now, where are you headed next? Have you fought Sabrina yet?"

"Actually…" Niko began, "That's exactly where we're going next. I'm going to rematch Leader Sabrina for the marsh badge."

"Well, I wish you only the best of luck," Erika said gracefully as she left the battlefield.

The four walked out of the gym with the sun at its peak in the sky. They decided to grab food at the pizza place from the previous day while planning their next course of action. Niko decided that before they head to Saffron City, he wanted to train with his pokémon. There was a cycling road to the west that was known for large trainer gatherings, and so he figured he would go check it out.

"You guys can come with us if you want, but otherwise I think I'm going to just go alone," He said softly, clearly uncomfortable with saying this.

"Well, if you want to be alone, we don't mind checking out more of the city before we head out." Brittany responded. Niko smiled as he continued eating his pizza. He later decided to go to the "cycling road" on his own with his team of pokémon to train for the rest of the day and the following day as well. They needed all of the practice that they could get if they hoped to defeat Sabrina.


	28. Episode 28: The blind bulbasaur!

**Episode 28: The blind bulbasaur!**

During Niko's first battle against Sabrina, bulbasaur had used stun spore on alakazam, only to find the attack blocked and forced back at the seed pokémon, hitting it in the eyes and, according to Nurse Joy, temporarily blinding it. Ultimately, Niko lost the fight against Sabrina. He and his friends plan to return to Saffron City in order for him to rematch the psychic gym leader, but first, Niko wants to train the team that had originally fought Sabrina. This included, well, his now blind bulbasaur.

After defeating Erika in the Celadon gym, Niko journeyed west of the city to the cycling road, where he planned to train alone while his friends went off and toured more of the populous Kanto city. The cycling road, as he understood it, was just a road where trainers fought each other on bikes.

The first problem Niko faced was actually twofold: he didn't own a bike, and he had never ridden a bike.

Using some of the earnings from their casino adventure the previous day, he went and bought the cheapest bike that he could find (he planned on trying to re-sell it later, since he wouldn't need it unless all three of his friends planned on buying one as well). The next challenge was to actually learn how to ride it.

This turned out to be harder than fighting _Sabrina_.

After several tries (and several subsequent failures), Niko finally got on the bike, only to be told at the entrance to the cycling road that he didn't need a bike that day, since it was their annual "no-bike" day.

Niko walked back to sell his bike.

Returning to the cycling road, he started walking around with kadabra and pidgeotto by his side, and bulbasaur in his arms (which looked more awkward than one might think). Looking around for some trainers, Niko realized that maybe he should do some warm-up exercises with his pokémon before actually taking part in any battles. He set down bulbasaur and told it to try and use the bulb exercise move that Bruno taught him. Essentially this was to strengthen the bulb muscles so that stun spore would release faster, which is exactly what Niko had wanted. That way, they could follow up with a vine whip or any other fighting move while their opponent was paralyzed.

Niko had kadabra work on focusing his psychic energy. He was hoping to teach it psybeam, since confusion wasn't strong enough, and kadabra desperately needed a more varied move set. As for pidgeotto, Niko had it work on a few exercises—first its gust move, and then its quick attack. By improving quick attack, he could also count on wing attack getting stronger (albeit by less, relatively speaking).

After roughly half an hour of exercising, Niko walked with his three pokémon to look for some trainers to battle. Eventually, they found one, and engaged in a one-vs-one battle.

"Alright kadabra, let's go!" Niko commanded. The psi pokémon teleported in front of its trainer as its opponent—a vulpix—was revealed. "Let's try using psybeam!"

"Respond with a quick attack, vulpix!" the trainer commanded. Vulpix launched itself at the psychic type as the latter retaliated not with a psybeam, but with a confusion still. Despite it being the wrong command, it actually succeeded in stopping the fox pokémon in its tracks. Kadabra then picked up the fire type with its psychic energy and threw it backwards.

"Alright kadabra, _now_ let's try psybeam!" Niko commanded once more. Kadabra looked back at its trainer, a little unsure of how to respond. It pushed its hands together, both gripping the spoon, and it tried to focus its psychic energy on one single spot. Instead the attack backfired, and kadabra flew backwards, nearly hitting Niko.

"Vulpix now's our chance! Use flamethrower!"

"Kadabra get up! Never mind psybeam, let's just use confusion!"

The psi pokémon struggled to get up, and was luckily able to repel the stream of fire, manipulated it, and launched it back at vulpix, who dodged with quick attack and proceeded towards kadabra, hitting the now exhausted psychic type.

"Close-range flamethrower, vulpix!" the trainer demanded. Vulpix's move opened as fire was about to spill out from it as kadabra knocked it out of the way with its mind and used confusion to ultimately defeat the fox pokémon.

The trainer returned his vulpix as he walked over to Niko. "Hey, man, thanks for the battle. I can tell your kadabra is working pretty hard. Keep it up! And keep working on that psybeam, man, you'll get it," he said to kadabra as he walked away. Niko waved and thanked him for the battle before continuing on.

The cycling road was long. Long enough to extend to Fuchsia City, which is normally several days' walk. On the cycling road one can get their in a single day, maybe less even. So as Niko was walking down, he saw dozens of trainers about. It was truly a sight to behold, in his mind. He had never seen so many trainers in one spot. At least, not since the S.S. Anne.

After several minutes of walking, Niko found a second trainer to fight. This time, he decided to use pidgeotto against the trainer's lickitung. Niko had to pull out his pokédex to get some data on this pokémon, since he has never seen one before:

" _Lickitung, the licking pokémon. Its tongue spans almost 7 feet and moves more freely than its forelegs. Its lick can cause paralysis_."

"Alright pidgeotto, let's end this quickly! Use gust!" Niko commanded. The bird pokémon then flapped its wings vigorously, but it quickly came to an end when the trainer retaliated with disable, which halted the gust and froze pidgeotto in place.

"Lickitung, now use wrap!" the trainer ordered. Lickitung walked up and ran its tongue around the flying type, capturing it and squeezing the life out of pidgeotto.

"We've been through this before, buddy!" Niko yelled out, "Use wing attack!"

The bird pokemon's wings began to glow as it pushed the tongue outwards, making enough room for it to escape. Lickitung fell backwards as it then took a quick wing attack from pidgeotto.

"Lickitung, use disable!"

"Alright then, pidgeotto use quick wing attack again, there's no way it disabled both moves."

Turns out, only quick attack was disabled, and pidgeotto was able to land a wing attack on lickitung. However, it was engulfed in the wrap attack once more. This time, however, lickitung leapt off the ground and slammed its tongue—with pidgeotto in it—onto the hard concrete ground. The flying type, having been unwrapped by the pink tongue, then took another slam from the tongue as it landed like a whip on the bird pokémon, ultimately defeating it.

Niko returned pidgeotto and walked up to the trainer to thank her for the battle. Like the first trainer, she was also cordial, advising Niko on how he might be able to evade lickitung's tongue—or any wrap-like move generally—if pidgeotto simply got faster. There were certainly other, more technical ways to deal with this strategy, but that was by far the most elementary of them, and would also improve a lot of the bird pokémon's other moves as well.

Thanking her again, Niko continued walking, now with only bulbasaur in his arms. He looked down, realizing that the seed pokémon didn't really know what was going on. So he explained what he was seeing around him in enough detail to get his pokémon to visualize the world around it. He also mentioned that he wanted to try and battle, but first asked if bulbasaur would be okay with it. The grass type nodded eagerly, since he was itching to battle. While they were looking for trainers, Niko also told bulbasaur about their Celadon gym battle. The grass type seemed enthralled by how well pidgeotto and hitmonchan had performed, as well as Erika's victreebel and vileplume. Even though he couldn't understand bulbasaur, Niko understood that he was probably thinking of ways that he could improve itself as a grass type, just by hearing about the battle as narrated by his trainer.

Eventually they found another trainer. Now, bulbasaur was ready. But he would need all of Niko's energy as a trainer to help him win. More than usual, at least.

"Hey, are you sure you want to battle? Your bulbasaur looks like its blind," he said as he hesitantly took out a pokéball.

Niko smirked and nodded. "Yeah, I'm very aware of my bulbasaur's blindness. And we're both ready to beat you."

"Fair enough, then. Go, sandshrew! Let's start off with fury swipes!"

"Wait for it, bulbasaur. Try feeling where it's coming from…" Niko said quietly, understanding the bulbasaur's hearing had gotten a little better. The seed pokémon slightly shifted a little, hearing where the mouse pokémon was coming from. "Now! Use stun spore!"

Bulbasaur unleashed yellow spores just as sandshrew was about to attack. The ground type collapsed to the ground.

"Follow up with a vine whip! Let's grab it and toss it in the air!" Niko commanded. The seed pokémon obeyed, wrapping its green vines around the mouse pokémon—after having to feel around for a moment—and lifting it high into the air. It then proceeded to toss sandshrew onto the ground.

"Sandshrew…no!" The trainer said desperately, trying to think of a way to retaliate. Suddenly, as bulbasaur was about to use another vine whip, the mouse pokémon began to glow. It got much bigger, and large brown spikes began to grow on its back. Niko pulled out his pokédex:

" _Sandslash, the mouse pokémon. It is skilled at slashing enemies with its claws. If broken, they start to grow back in a day_."

"Wow! Sandshrew you evolved!" The trainer said excitedly. "Now, let's try fury swipes again!"

"Bulbasaur, be careful now, it looks to be much faster, and much stronger too. Remember to try and feel where it's coming from. I'll be here to help guide you, too…" Niko said softly. As sandslash began using fury swipes, Niko kept telling bulbasaur which direction to dodge. "Left! Now right! And left again! Now, use stun spore!"

The seed pokémon quickly released the yellow spores, which sandslash repelled with a much faster fury swipes. It then struck bulbasaur in the side of the face, sending the grass type off to the side of the road. Bulbasaur struggled to get up, seeing as a lot of its weight was in its bulb and head, which made its predicament similar to that of a turtle on its back.

"Bulbasaur use your vines to push yourself back up!" Niko commanded. The seed pokémon tried the suggestion, and it just about worked until sandslash used poison sting by jabbing its claw into bulbasaur's underside. The grass type roared out in pain as it retaliated with a vine whip to the face, leaving a bright red mark on the mouse pokémon. Bulbasaur then got back on its four feet and grabbed sandslash with its vines, lifting it up and launching it towards its trainer.

Now feeling the heat of the battle, the grass type yelled out to the heavens and, somehow, leaves started erupting from its bulb. The green leaves collided with sandslash, overwhelming the ground type pokémon and defeating it.

"Was that razor leaf…?" Niko asked himself aloud. His opponent confirmed this as he walked over to congratulate him. Bulbasaur, still blind, just stood where he was, cheerful that was able to win, in addition to learning a new move. Niko quickly thanked his opponent for the battle and ran over to pick up his starter pokémon. Embracing him in a hug, Niko praised bulbasaur for a job well done.

"I'm so proud of you, buddy! That was a tough fight, especially when you can't see," he looked down at bulbasaur, who was understandably not looking back. "Listen, I don't know if you'll still be blind when we rematch Sabrina, but I fully intend on using you again, if you're okay with that," bulbasaur nodded happily. "Ha-ha, alright then. Well, let's get back to Celadon City and see what the others have been up to. You also need to heal up."

An hour later, at sunset, Niko finally met up with his friends at the pokémon center. They exchanged their stories of the past few hours: Niko with his battles—especially bulbasaur's, where he learned a powerful new move. Fay, JJ, and Brittany, on the other hand, got caught up in the casino once again, nearly losing all of their money until Fay saved them by beating the voltorb flip game (i.e. getting to the highest level and, by sheer luck at that point, winning it all). They then decided to walk around the department store and check out some of the other shops, ultimately grabbing some more food for the road and some badge cases for Fay and Niko, since technically they didn't have any, and just kept their badges in their backpacks.

The three left the pokémon center, Niko's pokémon in the safe hands of Nurse Joy, and went to grab some dinner in their last night in Celadon City. The following morning, they would trek down route 8 in hopes of reaching Saffron City by nightfall. The day after, Niko would have his rematch against Sabrina.


	29. Episode 29: Evolution heals all wounds!

**Episode 29: Evolution heals all wounds!**

The road back to Saffron City didn't seem to take as long as before, since the group made it back by sunset. After having dinner at the pokémon center, they headed straight for bed, exhausted from walking all day. Niko, in particular, needed the sleep, as did his pokémon.

The next day, Niko was up the earliest. He was outside with kadabra, pidgeotto, and a still blind bulbasaur. Before breakfast, he asked them all to do about 10 minutes of exercises: bulbasaur with its stun spore; pidgeotto with gust and its speed; kadabra with focusing its psychic energy to use psybeam. While they did that, Niko began coming up with a strategy.

 _So generally she will use Mr. Mime first. If she does, I send out pidgeotto. If she sends out venomoth, I go kadabra. Either way, I can substitute if needed. If alakazam comes out second, I will either use pidgeotto or bulbasaur. I just don't want kadabra to fight it—won't be nearly as effective._

Sitting down on a nearby bench, watching his pokémon while pondering strategy, he noticed Brittany walking towards him and deciding to sit down next to him.

"How's it going?"

"Fine, got the team working on some exercises before breakfast. I'm trying to come up with a strategy to beat Sabrina, since I think that's the only way I'll win," Niko said, looking down at the ground. Brittany put a hand on his shoulder.

"You're gonna do fine. I think that because you're so nervous. You already beat another gym leader and spent the past day and a half training. Sabrina won't see you coming!"

"Thanks, Brittany. I'll be inside in a few," the brunette nodded as she got up and walked back to the center. "Alright, guys, come on in," Niko beckoned his team. The three pokémon walked up in front of him (kadabra helped bulbasaur find its way). "How are you three feeling?"

His team cheered loudly, bringing a smile to their trainer's face. "That's great to hear. Now I think I have a strategy for how we're going to beat Sabrina. Kadabra, whatever order she send her pokémon out in, you'll fight venomoth. You have the best chance of beating it. Pidgeotto, you'll fight any of her pokémon, and I plan on using you first. Bulbasaur…you're my trump card. You'll be fighting alakazam. Are you ready for this?"

The seed pokémon nodded, no emotion in its face. Niko returned the expression, and then put his hand in. Pidgeotto put its wing in, kadabra its hand and helped bulbasaur put a paw in. The four then cheered, and Niko walked inside with them, bulbasaur in his arms. His friends were already midway through breakfast by the time Niko started, but they finished at roughly the same time. As did his pokémon, who seemed more determined than ever to win.

The walk to the gym took forever, but for Niko it seemed to go by in a matter of seconds. His mind was completely preoccupied by the upcoming battle. Walking into the gym, he noticed Sabrina was sitting in her rather large chair at the end of the room, as if waiting for him.

"I once again foresaw your arrival," Sabrina said, getting out of her chair and standing up, "You're here for a rematch, is that correct?" Niko nodded, only to elicit a smirk from the gym leader. "Very well. It will be a three-on-three match. Whenever you're ready, Niko."

Fay, JJ, and Brittany sat up in the stands, hitmonchan and magnemite also present. They wanted to cheer on their trainer and his team as well. The judge threw both flags up, indicating that the match was ready to begin.

"Pidgeotto, come on out!" Niko yelled.

"Mr. Mime, I choose you!" Sabrina commanded.

"Let's not waste any time here, use quick wing attack!"

"I see you aren't changing tactics. Very well, Mr. Mime use barrier!"

The barrier pokémon built up an invisible wall using its psychic abilities, causing the bird pokémon to crash into it. However, this time pidgeotto rushed back into the air and repeated its combination move, again slamming into the barrier, but causing it to crack a little.

Niko smiled. "Pidgeotto, use quick attack!"

"Mr. Mime, confusion!"

"Switch to gust instead!"

Pidgeotto halted its movement as it then flapped its wings aggressively, trying to catch the barrier pokémon off guard. The attack succeeded, and Mr. Mime fell back onto the ground.

"Now, use quick attack once more!"

"Barrier!"

Mr. Mime could not erect a barrier fast enough, and was struck by the flying type in the chest, knocking it back over. Pidgeotto then rushed high into the air, pleased with its success. However, Mr. Mime then used confusion and, before Niko and pidgeotto could respond, the latter found itself crashing into the ground.

"Now, Mr. Mime, let's finish pidgeotto off. Psywave!"

The psychic type then moved its hands in circular motions, creating a wave of psychic energy that crashed into the bird pokémon. Pidgeotto flew backwards and landed on the ground in front of Niko. Clenching his teeth, he commanded pidgeotto to use quick wing attack.

"Mr. Mime, barrier!"

"Don't let that stop you, pidgeotto! Give it all you've got!" Niko screamed. Pidgeotto was able to move through the invisible psychic wall and crash into Mr. Mime, sending the two into the wall behind Sabrina.

"It…it looks like Mr. Mime is unable to battle! Pidgeotto is the winner! Sabrina may now use her second pokémon."

"Venomoth, I choose you!" Sabrina commanded.

"Pidgeotto, return," Niko said. "Great job buddy. I'll need you later. Come on out kadabra!"

Sabrina smirked slightly. "I see what you're doing, Niko. Using some sort of strategy now. That won't get you far. Venomoth, use psybeam!"

Before kadabra could see it coming, it was struck with a stream of psychic energy, knocking it over and onto the ground. Niko encouraged it to get back up as soon as possible, but it found itself back down again immediately. _That venomoth is faster than I remember seeing it_.

"Venomoth, use poisonpowder while its down!" the gym leader commanded. The poison moth pokémon then fluttered its wings, releasing little speckles of poison dust in the direction of kadabra. The attack landed unfortunately, and the psi pokémon struggled to stand, feeling the poison draining its energy.

"Kadabra…you have to focus…try to focus on venomoth…" Niko said softly. "I know you can do this…stay strong…"

Kadabra closed its eyes, trying to feel the psychic energy inside of itself and all around the field. He felt a strong amount of energy coming from the other side of the field, in both venomoth and Sabrina. As the gym leader was commanding another psybeam, kadabra felt how it moved inside of the poison type pokémon. And then it took the hit a third time.

But the psi pokémon didn't fall backwards. Still feeling the poison weaken it, kadabra managed to stay afoot this time, digging its feet into the ground below it. Bracing itself, kadabra gripping its spoon with two hands, summoning all of its psychic power into the single spoon. Opening its eyes, it released psybeam.

The attack hit an unsuspecting venomoth square in the chest, launching the moth pokémon several feet backwards. Niko pumped his fist, realizing that kadabra had finally figured out its new move.

"Yeah kadabra! Let's follow up with a teleport!" Niko commanded, now fired up. Kadabra disappeared, only to reappear behind venomoth. "Use confusion!" the psi pokémon grabbed venomoth with its mind and tossed it into the stands opposite his friends. "Now, finish it off with psybeam!"

Before kadabra used its new move again, it felt the pangs of the poison once more, dropping to one knee and gripping its torso. Sabrina and venomoth took the opportunity to use psybeam to finish off the psychic type. In response, kadabra lifted its spoon and also used psybeam.

The attack collided, creating an explosion of dust in the air. Venomoth and kadabra were once again on each other, both surviving the attack and both using psybeam once more, this time up close. The attacks landed in a burst of psychic power, ending the battle.

"Kadabra and venomoth are both unable to battle. Both trainers may now send out their next pokémon," the judge proclaimed.

"Pidgeotto, I choose you!" Niko yelled out.

"Alakazam, let's finish this!" Sabrina said, throwing out her third pokéball, unleashing her most powerful pokémon.

"Pidgeotto, I know we can do this. Don't get intimidated, and don't give up," Niko said as they both looked across at their opponents. "Now, use gust!"

"Alakazam, use psychic!"

The psychic pokémon's eyes began to glow, as it summoned a massive amount of psychic energy to grab hold of the bird pokémon and launch it into the ceiling. Pidgeotto came crashing down. Niko ordered his pokémon to use quick wing attack. The attack landed, and alakazam stepped backwards, clutching its chest. As pidgeotto was flying back to repeat the move, the psi pokémon used psychic once more, throwing the bird pokémon into the same stands venomoth had been launched into earlier.

"Pidgeotto, one more time, quick wing attack!" Niko commanded. The bird pokémon managed to hit alakazam, but as it did, Sabrina commanded it to retaliate with psywave, which sent the flying type as far back as where Niko was standing.

"Now alakazam, use recover."

"Pidgeotto, can you get up?" Niko asked. The bird pokémon tried to stand upright, but collapsed a second time. The battle with Mr. Mime had done too much damage already.

"Pidgeotto is unable to battle, alakazam wins! Niko will now send out his final pokémon."

Back in the stands, his friends were worried. Niko only had bulbasaur left, who was part poison and therefore vulnerable to psychic type moves. In addition, alakazam could use recover. Hitmonchan and magnemite began cheering loudly for their trainer as he summoned his last pokémon.

"Bulbasaur, let's go!" Niko screamed, and out popped the seed pokémon. "This is what we've been training for, buddy. You can do this, I believe in you," he said to his blind pokémon.

"A poison type…really? And a blind one, no less. I guess alakazam really did a number of it," Sabrina said, scoffing a little, not feeling much remorse for bulbasaur's condition. "Alakazam, let's make this quick. Use psychic!"

"Take the hit, bulbasaur," Niko said, finally understanding how alakazam operated. Sabrina would use psychic as full power, which exhausted the psi pokémon momentarily. If bulbasaur could survive psychic, then he might be fast enough to use stun spore.

The grass type took the psychic, and managed to survive. "Now, use stun spore quickly!" Niko had never seen the bulb muscles move as quickly as they did before—clearly the training had paid off.

Yellow spores engulfed alakazam, who stood frozen in place, paralyzed momentarily by the spores. Niko now saw his chance, commanding bulbasaur to use razor leaf. The sharp leaves slashed and cut at the psi pokémon, who tried using recover but found it difficult as its opponent wasn't letting up. Bulbasaur inched forward slowly, trying to get close enough that it could use vine whip. However, since it couldn't see, and there weren't any sounds to indicate how close it was, it stopped after a few feet and tried using vine whip. The attack hit successfully, but it stopped the razor leaf, and alakazam's paralysis had disappeared.

"Use psychic!" Sabrina commanded, ordering her psychic pokémon to launch bulbasaur into the wall next to the judge (and, evidently, directly under Niko's friends). The seed pokémon collapsed onto the ground, struggling to get up. Alakazam used psychic once more, this time sending it to Niko's feet.

"Bulbasaur, get up buddy, you can do this…" Niko said, caressing the seed pokémon's bulb. As he did so, bulbasaur started glowing, engulfing the surrounding area in a white light. Niko marveled at the sight of evolution, watching his first pokémon get bigger. Its body, bulb, and face all grew larger, and green leaves began to protrude from under the now bright pink bulb. Niko pulled out his pokédex:

" _Ivysaur, the seed pokémon. When the bulb on its back grow large, it appears to lose the ability to stand on its hind legs._ "

"Ivysaur, eh?" Niko said, standing up and looking down at his newly evolved pokémon. "Let's go then, turn around and move forward. Alakazam will be right in front of you."

Niko began giving commands as if ivysaur was still blind. As he found out, from hearing his pokémon try to communicate with him, the evolution seemed to cure the blindness, for some reason. Once he realized this, he looked back up at Sabrina and alakazam, who stared back coldly.

"Alakazam, finish it off with psychic."

"Not so fast! Ivysaur, use razor leaf!"

Ivysaur cried out to the heavens as it unleashed a torrent of sharp leaves in the direction of alakazam, before the latter could retaliate. This time, ivysaur ran forward, all while using razor leaf, and unleashed a second stun spore, freezing the psi pokémon in place. It then switched to vine whip, slapping the psychic type a few times before ultimately defeating it.

"Alakazam is unable to battle, ivysaur wins! And the victory goes to Niko from Pallet Town!"

Niko ran over to a now exhausted ivysaur, getting down on his knees and hugging his pokémon tightly. "I'm so proud of you, buddy! You won this for us!" Hitmonchan and magnemite jumped over the stands and ran to their trainer, creating a group hug. Out of excitement, magnemite accidentally released a spark of electricity, shocking his trainer and teammates. It didn't frustrate Niko, however. He was much too happy for that.

Fay, JJ, and Brittany joined them a moment later, bringing their friend into another group hug and offering their congratulations as well. Niko thanked them, and turned to the gym leader, who stood there with a badge in hand and a smile on her face.

"You've earned this, Niko. Here is the marsh badge."

Niko took the badge from Sabrina's palm and looked at it, showing it to his team.

"Thank you for the battle. I really appreciate it. It helped to strengthen my bond with my pokémon."

Sabrina nodded, still smiling a little. "That's what matters in the end, Niko. I know you'll continue to get stronger with your team. Hopefully we can have a rematch one day."

"We certainly will. Count on it."

The group left the gym and, noticing it was midday, decided to go out for lunch after healing up their pokémon. At a diner in Saffron City, they sat down and plotted out the next leg of their journey.

JJ pulled out the pamphlet and map. "Alright guys, so the next gym around here is in Fuchsia City. The leader is Janine, and she uses poison types. I think only Niko has an advantage, here."

"Don't worry about advantages and disadvantages," Fay mentioned, "We'll be fine. How far is it?"

"Well," JJ said, "There's a few ways we could go. Down the cycling road, which is back through Celadon City. Or we could go south of Lavender Town and then west. By my estimates it should take…err…a few weeks, at least."

"That's fine with me," Brittany said, "It'll give us all time to train, especially Niko and Fay. And maybe we'll see some cool pokémon on the way!"

"That's true, actually," JJ said, folding up the map and pamphlet and putting them back in his backpack.

"Then it's settled," Niko said, a new determination in his eyes. "To Fuchsia City by way of Lavender Town!" the group cheered, now with a new destination set in stone.

* * *

 **Author's note: Yeah I know, not sure how evolution would cure blindness, but hey, I guess we can make it work, right? Hopefully you didn't see this episode as too farfetched, and enjoyed it all the same! See y'all in the next episode!**


	30. Episode 30: Brittany and the snorlax!

**Episode 30: Brittany and the snorlax!**

Getting to Fuchsia City would take, according to JJ's estimates, a matter of weeks. This is largely because they had to pass through Lavender Town first, which took a few days, and then move south and later west, through a number of different routes.

The days up until they got to Lavender City were largely uneventful. Niko and Fay continued training their teams of pokémon, trying to learn new strategies and techniques to fight with. For most of the trip Niko was having difficulty, so instead he focused on strength training, making sure that when his pokémon hit, they hit hard. Fay did something similar, but he also wanted to focus on speed, and had his bipedal pokémon work more on their dodging exercises.

Brittany and JJ sometimes participated in these training sessions. Even though neither of them were challenging gyms, they were pokémon trainers after all, and so it felt right to work on some techniques. Every now and then they would battle: Brittany with her only pokémon, squirtle, and JJ with either beedrill or eevee.

One day, after a more intense battle with eevee, Brittany and squirtle sat down on the grass next to their sleeping bag and watching their friends play around in the field in front of them. It was a rather sunny day, and they could feel the ocean breeze coming from the east. The previous day they passed through Lavender Town, which was largely uneventful—just some shopping and healing up their pokémon. Brittany turned her head and looked out to the ocean, watching the water sparkle in the sunlight as it ebbed and flowed. The curly brunette then looked down at her starter pokémon.

"Hey squirtle, I wonder what's at the other end of the ocean," she said, pointing to the water. The tiny turtle looked up at its trainer, and said something in pokémon language that Brittany couldn't seem to understand. She smiled, hoping that the answer was filled with as much curiosity as her question was. Getting up and stretching, she decided to start on lunch.

Smelling the scent of food, Niko, Fay, JJ, and their pokémon all rushed over to Brittany and squirtle, who were too busy with cooking to notice the stampede of their friends. After a little while, the whole group sat down to eat their food, but as JJ was about to take his first bite, he heard someone yelling in their direction.

"Help, somebody help us!"

They all stood up, looking around to see if they could find anyone nearby. Not seeing a single human, they waited for another moment until the voice called out to them once more. Fay pointed in the direction of the voice, and they all rushed over to see what was going on.

A couple hundred yards away, there were a group of men all looking up at what looked to be a pokémon…but none of them were familiar with it. Niko pulled out his pokédex:

" _Snorlax, the sleeping pokémon. Very lazy. Just eats and sleeps. As its rotund bulk builds, it becomes steadily more slothful._ "

"What's going on guys?" Niko asked the group of men, all of whom immediately turned around.

"Can't you see? We can't seem to get this pokémon out of our way!" one of them cried out.

"…and why is that…?" JJ inquired.

"CAN'T YOU SEE? DO YOU NOT HAVE EYES MAN?" a second guy yelled out. JJ in fact did look. He saw a snorlax, but he also noticed that it was blocking a pathway through the forest. "WE CAN'T GET TO VERMILION CITY BECAUSE THIS LAZY FREAKING POKEMON WON'T MOVE!"

"Okay okay, calm down guys," Niko said, holding his hands out cautiously. "There are other pathways, right?" JJ pulled out his map, folding over to the area of Kanto that they were in. He shook his head.

"Well, not for a while. Remember Niko? This is the path we took on our way to Lavender Town. It's…actually the only path for miles, and the quickest way to get to Vermilion City."

"Alright, I getcha then. Is there anything that we can do to help?"

"Well, sure," the first guy started speaking, "One way is to put food in front of its nose, which we have already tried—guess it just ate or something; the second way is to attack it—again something we have tried to do; and the third is to use a pokéflute, but ours seems to be broken. It won't wake up when we play it.

Brittany walked over and offered to take a look at it. The first guy pulled the instrument from his backpack and handed it over to the brunette. She took it and ran her fingers along it. After spending a minute or so examining it, she came to a conclusion.

"It looks like its fine, actually."

"WHAT!?" the second guy screamed out.

"Yeah, it's actually just fine. You might not be playing it correctly."

"Oh? And you know how to?" the second guy said, getting almost too close for comfort to Brittany.

"Yeah, I do, actually. In elementary school I played the pokéflute in our school band, and I played it pretty well. Could have gone professional in a few years if I wanted to. Not to brag, or anything."

The two guys looked at each other with a mixture of suspicion and disbelief. They then looked back at Brittany.

"Alright, kid, play it then. Let's see if snorlax wakes up."

"You got it!" Brittany said cheerfully.

"Brittany, you sure you want to do this?" Fay asked cautiously. She nodded, looking determined to wake up the sleeping pokémon.

Brittany then played the pokéflute. The sound being emitted was, to say the least, absolutely wonderful. The four humans and several pokémon all looked at Brittany calmly played the instrument, bringing in an audience of nearby forest pokémon. For a moment, the world seemed peaceful.

And then snorlax woke up.

And it was angry.

Seeing the sight of the massive pokémon, Brittany dropped the pokéflute and began to back away, squirtle right behind her. The whole group then bailed out of the forest, the snorlax following them from behind, shaking the earth beneath them so violently that they would have thought it was using the move earthquake.

"Guys, we can't just run, we need to fight this thing," Fay suggested, turning around with charmeleon and hitmonlee at his side.

Niko and JJ agreed, with hitmonchan, ivysaur, kadabra, eevee, and growlithe alongside them. All of the pokémon used a move on snorlax in an attempt to slow it down. Brittany also commanded squirtle to use water gun at the normal type.

Snorlax halted, and looked down at its group of opponents. Its growled for a moment, and then proceeded to open its mouth as it launched a yellow and orange beam of energy at the ground in front of them, causing them all to fly backwards a few feet. Snorlax proceeded to use the move again, this time the attack was much weaker.

"What is that move?" JJ asked as he was pushed backwards even further by the force of the move.

"That's hyperbeam, fellas. It's an incredibly powerful move. Normally it takes a while to recharge after usage, but it doesn't seem to need to," one of the other guys explained. "So…what're you waiting for? Aren't ya gonna fight it?"

"What do you think we're trying to do?" Fay said, snapping back. "Electabuzz, use thunderpunch! Hitmonlee, rolling kick!"

Fay's two pokémon rushed at snorlax, ready to fight it, but as electabuzz made contact, the sleeping pokémon swatted it away like it was a fly. Hitmonlee was able to land an attack, but snorlax then used what looked like mega punch in retaliation.

The normal type was without a doubt powerful. Charmeleon then used fire spin and followed up with a slash, only to be met with a hyperbeam alongside hitmonchan, who was using firepunch. Both pokémon collapsed to the ground.

"Ivysaur, use razor leaf! Kadabra, psybeam!" Niko commanded. The attack successfully hit, with ivysaur following up with a stun spore to paralyze the normal type. For a moment, it was vulnerable.

"Growlithe, use ember! Eevee, use dig!" JJ commanded as his two pokémon also rushed into action. Snorlax then used hyperbeam once more, knocking kadabra, ivysaur, and growlithe out of the way and proceeding forward. It then mega punched eevee back into the ground as soon as the evolution pokémon tried to surprise attack it with dig.

The group was now at the edge of the water with snorlax in front of them. Fay sent out gyarados to aid in the effort, but the snorlax was much too angry. It rushed past the group and into the water, mega punching the atrocious pokémon in the throat, knocking it back into the water.

At this point, Brittany and squirtle were trying to help out from a distance, with squirtle using water gun. Beedrill and pidgeotto were out now, both trying to attack snorlax from the sky. The pin missile and gust didn't seem to do much.

Brittany then had a thought. "Hey, snorlax! Come over here!" the brunette screamed, pulling out the pokéflute and starting to play it. The wonderful sound emitting from it got the attention of the sleeping pokémon, who redirected its rage at the trainer and her water type pokémon. It then crawled out of the water, ignoring the poison bee and bird pokémon, and started lumbering over to Brittany.

"Uhh…squirtle…let's run!" she yelled out, turning around and retreating with squirtle.

"Brittany!" Niko screamed out, fearful for his friend. "Pidgeotto! Use quick wing attack!"

The flying type shot at snorlax like a bullet, hitting in the back and successfully toppling it over while beedrill nailed the normal type with a poison sting. Snorlax, noticing the two, unleashed a hyper beam at both of them, knocking them out of the sky and onto the ground near their trainers.

Snorlax then turned back to squirtle, who was constantly shooting water at its face. Snorlax returned the gesture with a mega punch to the ground, causing the tiny turtle to lose its balance.

"Don't give in, squirtle. We can handle this…" Brittany said, albeit with little confidence in her own words. As squirtle now took a mega kick to the torso, launching it several feet behind its trainer, the brunette now found itself face-to-face with the snorlax. As it prepared its hyperbeam, Brittany made an attempt to dodge, but before she could, she saw a bright glowing figure in front of her.

It was squirtle. Well, technically not. It was certainly a turtle-like pokémon, and it was certainly hers, but it was not squirtle. It was the evolved form of squirtle: wartortle.

"…what…?" Brittany said in disbelief.

"Squirtle just evolved, Brittany!" Fay yelled out, running towards her alongside mankey, who leapt into the air to low kick snorlax in the face. The attack succeeded, knocking over the sleeping pokémon as wartortle used water gun.

Still in disbelief, the brunette got up from the ground and looked at her new pokémon, who turned to look at her.

The two guys then ran up to them, screaming something about breaking the pokéflute. Apparently one of them read somewhere that breaking it would help calm down the snorlax; they had just forgotten about it.

How convenient.

Fay, looking a little agitated at this new information, commanded mankey to use mega punch on the flute, effectively destroying it. The snorlax, who seemed to look calmer, was fast asleep on its back, thanks to the pig monkey kicking it in the face and knocking it out.

The two strange men walked away, back on their path to Vermilion City while the four trainers watched them. "That was…odd…" Niko finally commented after a minute or so.

"You're telling uh me, Niko." JJ replied and began to walk back to their campsite with his injured pokémon. They would work to heal them up over the following days, since there wasn't a pokémon center for a while (indeed, they could have gone back to Lavender Town, but it would have taken much longer to get to Fuchsia City at that rate). The group finally sat down for a meal, this time in peace. During lunch, they all commented on wartortle's bravery in blocking the hyperbeam from Brittany, much to the embarrassment of the turtle pokémon.

"Thanks, wartortle," Brittany said, hugging her water type. As they did so, they again looked out onto the ocean in front of them, still curious as to what lay on the other end.


	31. Episode 31: The fishing tournament!

**Episode 31: The fishing tournament!**

"Come one, come all to the annual Super Fishing Tournament!" a fisherman yelled in Niko's ear as the group was walking by.

They had been travelling down route 12 and 13 for the past few days, and they were now in an area that was, unsurprisingly, called "Fisherman's Port." It was a part of Kanto where fishermen loved to gather and fish for pokémon to trade with one another. It was called a port because these fishermen traded with other regions. Every year they fishermen that lived in the area hosted a tournament for travelling trainers.

Looking over at his friends, Niko smiled slightly, indicating that he kind of wanted to try it. "Let's give it a try guys! See what this is all about!" Niko urged.

They seemed unsure. Niko continued arguing for it, noting that he had never tried fishing before and figured that it would be a fun experience. He insisted that his friends didn't need to join him. However, JJ decided to enter the tournament as well. Fay and Brittany opted to watch instead, neither seeming interested in fishing.

Niko and JJ followed the fisherman as he escorted them to the registration table, which was just a foldable picnic table with a blue sheet over it under a stack of registration papers. A young man sat at the table and, as he saw Niko and JJ approached, smiled cordially and handed a sheet to each of the trainers without explanation.

"Great, is there anything else that we need to do?" Niko asked politely. The person at the stand shook his head and took the papers, motioning Niko and JJ over to the nearby dock.

They saw a large group of men in fishing attire crowding the series of docks overlooking the ocean beyond. They wandered around, trying to absorb the fishing culture surrounding them. As they did so, they heard the voice coming from a megaphone, similar to the one that had asked Niko to join in the tournament.

"Welcome one and all to the annual fishing tournament!" the announcer proclaimed. "My name is Martin, and I will be the announcer and judge of this competition. "So, most of you know how this tournament works, but I can tell some of you are new," Martin said, peering over at Niko and JJ, "and so I will go through the rules.

"Each competitor will have two hours to catch a pokémon. Each pokémon in the sea has a certain amount of points associated, based on its type, size, and place along its evolution line. For example, a cloyster would win over a shellder, but a gyarados would win over a cloyster. That is the first round. In the second round, each fisherman will engage in a tournament style battle. If you do not catch a pokémon in the first two hours then you will not be eligible for the battle portion. Once every competitor has a fishing rod, the tournament will begin!"

Niko and JJ were then handed a fishing rod and within minutes they took a spot along the dock. Then Martin started the tournament, and the fishermen all threw their lines out simultaneously. Niko struggled with getting his line out into the water at first, but eventually he got it out. JJ, on the other hand, needed some help from the other, more experienced fishermen before eventually getting his line out.

"So…two hours, huh?" JJ said after a while.

"Well, less than that, technically, but yeah pretty much." Niko responded.

"Have you uh caught anything yet?" JJ asked. Niko shook his head.

The two continued to make conversation for a bit until JJ thought he caught something. Reeling the line aggressively, JJ eventually pulled up…a boot.

"Oh are you _kidding_ me!" JJ yelled out, pulling the boot off of the hook and tossing it back into the ocean. He then threw the line back into the water.

Roughly an hour into the tournament, Niko finally caught something. He also reeled the line in vigorously. Up came a little blue shell-like pokémon with a black face and two large eyes. It was wrapping its pink tongue around the hook. Niko looked at it curiously, holding his rod in one hand and his pokédex in the other:

" _Shellder, the bivalve pokémon. The shell can withstand any attack. However, when it is open, the tender body is exposed._ "

"Looks like a strong pokémon, or could be. I'll take it!" Niko said, grabbing a pokéball and touching it to shellder's shell. The pokémon went inside, dropping into Niko's free hand. It wiggled for a moment or two, and then clicked. He had caught a shellder.

The two hours were soon up, and JJ had not caught a single pokémon. A magikarp did get caught on his hook at one point, but as he brought the hook closer to him the magikarp flew off the hook and back into the water, much to JJ's disappointment.

Regardless, Niko and JJ walked back over to where Martin was standing. He brought the rest of the fishermen around him. A few minutes later, he began to speak.

"Alright everyone! Gather around! For every trainer who caught a pokémon, please come up to this form and sign up on this sheet, and grab a number! Then we will randomly sort you all into pairs, and we conduct the first round of battles for this tournament! But before we do that…I want each one of you to come up here and show off which pokémon you caught."

One by one, each of the competitors walked up to the little stage that Martin was standing on, and showed off the pokémon that they had caught. Some had tentacools, magikarp, goldeens, etc. One trainer even had a gyarados. The points were tallied up by Martin and a few others, and the results for the first round were announced.

Niko was third to last.

Fay, Brittany, and now JJ (who came in last) were all watching how each placed, and wondered if Niko could pull it back. They then watched as the crowd of competitors moved to a battlefield on the other side of the port, a pool of water surrounded by wooden planks, where each trainer would battle their pokémon. Martin began calling out a pair of numbers, indicating the trainers that would start the first battle.

The first few rounds were entertaining enough. It seemed as if the fishermen knew what they were doing, despite not having battled with these pokémon before. They knew the kinds of moves that they knew, how strong they would be, and therefore strategies that they might be able to use given the situation.

Eventually Niko was up, for the fourth battle of eight in the first round of the battle portion. He was facing a trainer named Stephen, who sent out a goldeen. Niko sent out shellder.

"Goldeen, use peck!" Stephen cried out loud.

Niko watched as shellder took the attack head-on. He had no idea what shellder could learn, as far as moves were concerned. So instead he just commanded it to tackle goldeen. The bivalve pokémon rushed at the fish pokémon and slammed right into it. Goldeen took the hit, but then retaliated with a horn attack, aimed directly at the face.

"Clamp down, shellder!" Niko commanded, and his pokémon gripped onto goldeen's horn. "Now toss it around!"

The bivalve pokémon spun around and released goldeen, launching it into the air then back into the water. The goldfish pokémon responded with a water gun, but shellder deflected by using withdraw, only to be pushed backwards. Goldeen then dove into the water and used horn attack from below, knocking shellder out of the water.

"Alright shellder, let's keep it up buddy!" Niko said, that last word really striking a chord with shellder, who looked over at its new trainer curiously. Niko nodded. "Use clamp!"

Shellder jumped back into the water, landing on top of goldeen's horn and gripping onto it. It then launched a stream of bubble at the goldfish's head, ultimately subduing it.

"Goldeen is unable to battle, shellder wins! Niko will now move on to the next round in the battle portion.

Niko walked back into the crowd to watch the rest of the tournament proceed. After the first round of the battle portion, only eight trainers remained. Niko ended up in the first round, and faced off against the trainer with a gyarados.

"Gyarados, I choose you!" the trainer, named Kyle, said.

"Shellder, come on out!" Niko commanded. Gyarados then rushed down into the water and _ate_ shellder, then used water gun to spit it out directly upwards, high into the sky.

"Gyarados, smack it with your tail!" Kyle ordered. The atrocious pokémon then lifted its webbed tail out of the water and whacked the bivalve pokémon, launching it at a downwards angle into the wooden planks, defeating its opponent in a single move.

Niko stood there in shock. It wasn't surprising, given how strong gyarados usually were. However, this was an _untrained_ gyarados. He ran over to shellder, who was floating in the water under some broken planks, and picked it up.

"Hey there, buddy," Niko said, smiling, "don't worry about it. We're gonna keep training, and keep getting stronger. I'm your trainer now, and I want to succeed with you. Got it?"

Shellder looked up at Niko, and slowly pulled out its large tongue and licked its new trainer. Niko laughed slightly, and began to walk back to his friends. Martin began to announce Kyle as the winner and proceeded with the next battle.

"Hey man, sorry about the loss," Fay said, "That gyarados was stupidly strong."

Niko nodded at him and smiled. He didn't seem too hung up about it all, and started walking out of Fisherman's Port, shellder in his arms and Fay, JJ, and Brittany flanking him as the sun began to set. The four began walking down the coast until the road turned west. They were halfway to Fuchsia City at this point.

It turned out, Niko found out later, that Kyle won the whole tournament. So that made him feel better—knowing that he lost to the eventual winner of the tournament. In the end, however, he gained a new companion for his journey through Kanto. One that, he hoped, would help him on his journey to win the Indigo League. As the group ate dinner that night, Niko introduced his now sixth member to the rest of his team. All of them seemed excited to meet shellder, who seemed to shy away from magnemite, for whatever reason.


	32. Episode 32: The dragon master

**Episode 32: The dragon master**

The day after the fishing tournament at Fisherman's Port, the group continued on westward to Fuchsia City. JJ, looking at his trusty map, estimated that it would be another week or so until they reached the site of Fay and Niko's next gym battle.

Around midday, they were out in a fenced off clearing on Route 13 doing a practice match. JJ was using beedrill and Niko was using shellder. The latter withdrew into its shell to evade a poison sting from the bee pokémon. Niko then retaliated with a bubblebeam that hit beedrill square in the chest.

"Beedrill, use pin missile!" JJ ordered, and his bug type unleashed green pins from its stingers directly at shellder, who again responded with withdraw.

"Shellder, leap into the air and use clamp on beedrill!" Niko yelled out. However, he didn't seem to realize how difficult it was for the bivalve pokémon to jump into the air, much less to beedrill's height. The poison bee pokémon then slammed its right stinger into the top of shellder's blue shell, slamming the water type into the grass. Niko ran over to pick shellder up and taking it over to the campsite where his other pokémon were resting. They had spent most of the morning doing individual training. JJ mentioned that Janine uses poison type pokémon. As a result, Niko really focused on training kadabra's psybeam, as well as shellder, who was new and its trainer really wanted to see its strength and where they could improve.

The group had some lunch, with JJ offering advice to Niko and shellder about their battling style. Something along the lines of learning the jumping capabilities of his pokémon before using moves like shellder's. From Niko's perspective, it seemed like he wasn't giving advice, but instead _telling_ him how to train. He didn't appreciate it, but chose not to say anything about it.

As they packed up to continue, they overheard some yelling down the road, and then a sudden explosion. Running over, Fay and JJ noticed a man in a red and black cape commanding a large orange creature against a pair of Team Rocket grunts. They seemed to be running away, but the man ordered his pokémon to use what looked like hyperbeam behind the grunts, knocking them onto their stomachs. Moments later, Officer Jenny came by with a squad of other officers, and they apprehended the grunts.

"What's going on, officer?" Fay asked as they approached the scene.

"Well, nothing anymore. Lance here was lucky enough to catch these grunts and stall long enough for us to arrive. Looks like they were trying to steal some trainer's pokémon."

"Yeah, that's right they did!" a hiker said, forcefully grabbing a pokéball from Officer Jenny's hand and walking away angrily. "That's the _last_ time anyone tries to steal my pokémon."

The man named Lance thanked Officer Jenny, and was about to leave then Fay realized who he was.

"Wait! You're Lance of the Elite 4!" Lance turned around curiously.

"Yeah, that's me. What's up?"

"You're the most powerful member of the Elite 4. You use dragon type pokémon, right?" Lance nodded. "I just wanted to say I'm a huge fan. I'm training to fight in the Indigo League, and I was wondering if you had any advice for training pokémon, specifically dragon types. I have a charmeleon and gyarados, if that helps."

Lance stood there for a moment, thinking. "Well, other than training every day, the best advice I have for those two types of pokémon would be to try and teach them dragon rage, if you haven't already."

"Dragon rage…?" Fay inquired. "Never heard of the move."

"Ah, no worries, it's exclusive to dragon pokémon which, even though the charmander line and gyarados aren't dragon type, they do look and act like dragons, and it would make sense that they can learn this move."

"I see, are there any best practices for teaching this move? Sorry if I'm asking too many questions."

Lance waved his hand and shook his head. "Oh, no worries young trainer. Say, I've got a few hours to kill, if you want to learn right now."

"Oh! Of course!" Fay said, "Well, we were about to leave on our way to Fuchsia City, but we can settle down right here and start training."

"Works for me, what's your name, trainer?"

"My name is Fay. This is my friend JJ. And Niko and Brittany are over there. Niko is also challenging gyms, and we hope to enter the Indigo League in the spring."

"Ah, right. That's in a couple months, right?" Fay nodded. "Completely forgot about that, to be honest. I've got so many other things that I work on in other regions that I miss out one a lot of events dealing with the Elite 4. How many badges do you both have?"

"We both have five. We're going to challenge Janine for our sixth."

"She's tough, that's for sure. Got her love for battling from her father, Koga, who used to be the gym leader of Fuchsia City. Good man, was also a member of the Elite 4 at one point over in Johto. Very technical trainer. Poison type trainers can be very cunning, too. They focus more on inflicting damage slowly, but can be as quick as a whip, too, if need be.

"Anyways, let's see your chameleon and gyarados now, if you will."

Fay threw out two pokéballs, releasing his fire and water types. Lance turned to his pokémon, which was called dragonite, and commanded it to use dragon rage. Walking up, Niko and Brittany were in awe. Niko pulled out his pokédex to examine dragonite:

" _Dragonite, the dragon pokémon. An extremely rarely seen marine pokémon. Its intelligence is said to match that of humans_."

"Wow! It's Lance of the Elite 4! What's he doing here?" Niko said excitedly.

"He's here to help me teach dragon rage, actually." Fay responded, turning to Niko and Brittany, the former's jaw dropping to the ground.

"I'm a huge fan of Lance! His battle with Blue was what encouraged me to become a pokémon trainer!" Niko continued, still excited.

"Well, I'm glad I serve as an inspiration to you, trainer," Lance then turned to Fay, "Alright Fay, let's get started. Dragon rage, as you can see from dragonite's performance, is kind of like any ordinary 'beam' move, only the use has less control over it. In this way, it requires less focus, but it's also more unpredictable. Does this make sense?" Fay nodded. "Excellent. Now, dragonite, show us how you use dragon rage!"

Dragonite's mouth erupted in purple and red flames as it then unleashed the energy from its mouth. The stream of fire flew outwards, but it was more focused on the area directly in front of it.

Lance then looked over at charmeleon and gyarados. "Did you get a chance to see that?" The two pokémon nodded. "Excellent. Now, let's try it now. So you two focus in that direction over there," Lance said, pointing past dragonite, "And try channeling your anger. A good way to use this move at the start is to think of a moment when you were angry. Like, _really_ angry. Once you get used to using the move, then it comes easier, and you won't need to feel mad."

Charmeleon and gyarados looked at each other, and then moved forward into the open space. Both closed their eyes for a moment, trying to dig up a memory that really frustrated them, and then felt flames coming from its mouth. Charmeleon was able to successfully unleash the dragon energy outwards. It took longer for gyarados to do the same, but eventually it succeeded, albeit without much focus. Instead, the energy sprayed everywhere, nearly burning down some trees and bushes. A forest fire would have started, if it weren't for gyarados, wartortle, and shellder all trying to put the flames out.

"Alright, that was a good first try you two. Gyarados, you just have to focus on, well, focusing it a little. It's going to take some time, but you'll get it eventually. Charmeleon, keep it up. Same thing—focus. You'll rarely ever turn dragon rage into a perfectly straight beam, but you can get very close."

The two kept practicing for another hour or so, with Lance guiding them with each successive try, and the water pokémon helped put out flames that may have started on accident.

"Anyways, I should head off. I wish you trainers the best of luck on your journey, and hope that you two succeed in the Indigo League."

"Same to you, Lance," Fay began, "And hopefully we can battle one day."

The Elite 4 member nodded. "Yes, Fay, I look forward to that battle. Dragonite, let's leave!" The dragon master then leapt onto his dragon pokémon and the two rocketed off into the sky.

Fay seemed to be star struck as he watched Lance depart into the sky. Looking over at his friends, his smile stretched from ear to ear.

"Guys…that was _awesome_." He said, looking over at his two pokémon. "Let's keep practicing! Maybe battle each other?" Charmeleon and gyarados looked at each other, and with slight hesitation shrugged and agreed to a battle. "Excellent! So you'll each take turns using dragon rage. You may use other moves, but only in self-defense. Got it?" The two pokémon nodded, and charmeleon ran a dozen yards away from gyarados, and then turned around to face the atrocious pokémon.

The flame pokémon then used dragon rage, summoning the energy from deep within its system and unleashed it from its maw in gyarados' direction. The water type tried dodging but took the attack head on. After taking a moment to recover from the blast of dragon energy, gyarados retaliated with a dragon rage. Charmeleon also took the attack, but so did the rest of the field, as it was immediately engulfed in flames.

"Wartortle, use water gun to put out the flames!" Brittany commanded as her turtle pokémon doused the purple fire. Shellder did the same with bubblebeam, and a panicked gyarados joined in with water gun.

Looking at the burnt grass surrounding the flame pokémon, Fay called off the battle, realizing immediately what a mistake he made in trying this so soon. "Alright you two, we can practice this later. Great job to both of you, though!" He said calmly. "Let's continue on, guys! Off to Fuchsia City!"

Having met another member of the Kanto Elite 4, and with a new technique under his belt, Fay was more determined than ever to continue training and winning the Indigo League. With his charmeleon and gyarados by his side, he figured that he had a solid chance at this point.


	33. Episode 33: Into the safari!

**Episode 33: Into the safari!**

"We're finally in Fuchsia City!" Niko proclaimed out loud. "Janine, here we come!"

Over the past week or so, the group had been training vigorously. On one day in particular, they were about to head to bed when wartortle had noticed something rustling in the bushes. Walking towards it, it pushed the branches back and noticed a little tangela, sitting inside looking scared. The turtle pokémon reached its tiny paw out, gently trying to get the vine pokémon to come out of the bush.

Tangela thought for a moment, but decided against it. Wartortle then closed the branches and walked back, explaining the situation to eevee, who also seemed curious.

"Wartortle, what's going on?" Brittany asked her only pokémon. The turtle responded in its own language, pointing to the bush where tangela was hiding. "There's something over there?" She said, "Well, what is it?" Wartortle then pointed to ivysaur, and then to the bush. "It's an ivysaur?" Wartortle shook its head, and instead put its paw out to guide Brittany over to the bush.

Uncovering the branches, Brittany and wartortle saw…nothing. Nothing at all. As it turned out, the tangela had escaped from the bush. Brittany gave her pokémon a look, as if it had gone crazy for whatever reason.

"Alright wartortle…there's nothing here. Let's head back to the camp, alright?" Brittany said, walking her pokémon back over to their friends to finish dinner. In another nearby bush, tangela sat there, watching Brittany and wartortle enjoy food with their friends.

In the middle of the night, wartortle heard more noises, this time coming from the campsite. Getting up, it walked over to the site of the sound, only to once again find tangela. As the turtle pokémon was about to make conversation with it, the vine pokémon ran back into the bushes, waking up Brittany and Niko. The two groggily looked over at wartortle, who threw its hands up and went back to bed.

- _Present day_ —

The first thing the group did in Fuchsia City was go to the pokémon center to get quality healing from Nurse Joy. Their pokémon had not been checked up on since Lavender Town a couple of weeks back. Sitting down to have another meal at the pokémon center, they decided to take a look at some of the sights in the city.

"So this city is famous for having the only Safari Zone in the region. It also has a world-renowned fisherman living in the city. Supposedly he will give out advice to all young fishermen and women that come to visit. Lastly, of course, there's the gym."

"Well, we could check out the Safari Zone before heading to the gym?" Niko wondered.

"Yeah, we could spend the rest of the day in the Safari Zone and challenge Janine tomorrow after resting up a little." Fay seconded in between bites of a sandwich.

The safari zone was on the north end of the city. On the way, the group saw several pokémon in pens as tourists watched them in their "natural habitat." Looking in disgust, Brittany wanted to protest, but found resistance in Fay, who determined that it wasn't worth trying to make a public scene over the issue.

"You can just write a letter to the city instead…" Fay said as he grabbed the brunette's shoulder and guided her towards the safari zone.

The entrance to the safari was a small reception room with double doors in the back to the left of a desk where a woman sat reading something on a computer. The four walked up to the desk, interrupting whatever she was reading.

"What do you want kids?" She said, looking up.

"We would like to enter the Safari Zone, miss." Fay said politely. The lady pulled out four bags of pokéballs and dropped them on the desk.

"Here are 30 safari balls. That'll be 40 bucks. You have until sunset." She said. Each trainer gave her some money, grabbed a bag, and walked out into the safari.

The Safari Zone looked just like any other road on their journey—it was a collection of different ecosystems: it had a forest, a prairie, a river leading into a larger body of water, and a collection of large boulders in a more jagged area meant to replicate a mountain environment. In short, it had everything necessary for pokémon to live.

"So…where do we start?" Niko asked as he began to walk around.

"I guess we could just explore the area, see what we can find." JJ responded.

The four began their excursion through the prairie first. On their right they saw a group of tauros drinking from the river. JJ pulled out his pokédex to get some data on them:

" _Tauros, the wild bull pokémon. When it targets an enemy, it charges furiously while whipping its body with its long tails._ "

Looks like a tough pokémon. Maybe we should try and catch one?" JJ said as he pulled out a safari ball.

"JJ! Wa-wait! No!" Fay said as JJ threw the pokéball at the wild bull in the back of the head. The pokémon turned around, now furious, and began rushing directly at JJ. The latter turned around with a look of pure fear, and ran past his friends and into the forest, the group of tauros chasing after him.

"We should probably help him…" Niko said, jogging off after the wild bull pokémon. Fay and Brittany shrugged and followed him.

JJ seemed to lose the tauros in the forest by hiding in a bush. A couple minutes later he emerged from the bush and continued through the forest. Walking by with his pokédex out, he collected data on pokémon he didn't even know existed. Pinsir, nidoran and nidorina, to name a few. After a while he made it out of the forest and into the mountain area. Sitting down, he released growlithe and sat the puppy pokémon on his lap.

"I wonder where the others are, growlithe." JJ asked, looking down at the fire type, who barked back at him with some concern in its voice.

Back in the forest, Fay, Niko, and Brittany were walking through, evading the tauros that were walking by. As they did so, they heard a rustling in the tree above. Brittany looked around, trying to locate the sound, but then it stopped.

"Am I crazy, or did you guys also hear something in the trees?" Brittany wondered. Fay and Niko both nodded, also looking up into the trees above. Finding nothing, they shrugged and continued walking, eventually reaching the other end of the river that the tauros were drinking from. Sitting down by the river, Fay decided to start skipping rocks down the river while Niko and Brittany made small conversation about where JJ might be. Eventually they got up and elected to go find their missing friend. Fay nodded, and continued skipping rocks.

"You alright buddy?" Niko asked.

Fay turned around and smiled. "Oh, I'm just fine dude. I'm gonna stick around here and see what kind of pokémon I can find. I'll catch up in a bit!"

Niko nodded and waved as he and Brittany walked back into the forest, figuring that would be a natural start on their journey to find JJ. Meanwhile, Fay sat by the river for a few minutes, looking downstream towards the mountain region. As he stood up to leave, he saw something emerging from the water.

It was a long, blue pokémon with a white underbelly, no limbs, and two large eyes and webbed ears. Fay pulled out his pokédex:

" _Dratini, the dragon pokémon. Long considered a mythical pokémon until recently when a small colony was found living underwater_."

"Oh…my god…" Fay said, pulling out a safari ball. "Dratini is so rare…Lance supposedly raised three at once." He clicked the pokéball's center, enlarging it and slowly inching towards dratini. As he got a few feet away, he threw the safari ball out. Seeing it, dratini then whacked it with its tail, sending the ball into the water. "Dammit!" Fay whispered, pulling out another safari ball and tossing it, this time at dratini's head. Again, the dragon pokémon hit the pokéball out of the way.

Frustrated, Fay pulled out a third safari ball, this time rushing at dratini, grabbing onto it after evading another whack of the tail, and touched the ball to its head, sending it into the water as he fell into the river. He held onto the pokéball while it clicked, indicating that he had caught dratini. The now soaked Fay dragged himself out of the river several yards away from his backpack. Walking over to grab it, he proceeded into the forest to look for his friends.

Meanwhile, Niko and Brittany made their way through the forest in search of JJ. As they did so, they noticed something running along the brush on the ground. Brittany began to follow it.

Brittany eventually found the creature a couple minutes later, outside of the forest and near a mountain range. Looking down, she noticed a little tangela standing there, looking back up at her fearfully. She slowly walked over to it, but as she did wartortle suddenly came out of her only pokéball and immediately seemed to recognize the vine pokémon. The tangela ran away in distress, wartortle and Brittany following close behind.

"Tangela, wait!" Brittany yelled out. "Were you the thing following us the past couple of days?" looking back, wartortle nodded its head vigorously. "I see…wartortle, I'm sorry for not knowing. Do you know this tangela?" The turtle pokémon nodded again. "Do you want me to catch it?"

By this time they were at the edge of the mountain and river regions of the safari. Wartortle turned to its trainer and nodded again. Brittany was able to deduce that wartortle seemed to like tangela, and tangela might trust wartortle. Pulling out an empty pokéball and set it on the ground in front of the vine pokémon, who waddled over, looking up and Brittany and over to wartortle, and kicked the center of the pokéball with its red foot, and immediately went into the pokéball. The pokéball clicked.

Brittany picked up the pokéball, releasing the newly caught tangela. Wartortle ran up and embraced the vine pokémon, who leaned in a little to indicate its happiness as well.

"Brittany! There you are! Look who I found!" Niko said with JJ and growlithe next to him. The brunette turned around and smiled to them.

"Hey guys, look what I caught!" Brittany exclaimed, pointing down to tangela.

"Oh, nice! Is that the thing that was following us in the forest?" Brittany nodded.

"It was also the thing that was occupying wartortle the past couple of days. It seems to really like tangela."

"Any idea where Fay is?" JJ wondered. The three looked around for their friend. As Niko began to explain where they last saw their friend, the black-haired companion of theirs began walking through the forest and in their direction.

"Hey guys! Look at what I caught!" Fay said, throwing up a pokéball into the air, releasing a 6-foot tall dragon pokémon. "A dratini! Apparently it's really rare! And Lance has _three_ of them!"

"Wow Fay, that's incredible!" Niko responded. "Looks like you and Brittany both added new pokémon to our group today!" The group then walked back towards the entrance of the safari zone, returned their safari balls to the receptionist, and continued on out to the pokémon center at sunset.

At dinner, they introduced the rest of their pokémon to dratini and tangela. As usual, for the most part each pokémon seemed to take a liking to them. Mankey for one was shocked at the size of dratini, but seemed to get along with it fine enough. The following day, they would challenge Janine for their sixth badge.


	34. Episode 34: The Ninja Queen!

**Episode 34: The Ninja Queen!**

The day after their excursion into the Safari Zone, the group journeyed to the Fuchsia City gym. Walking inside, they saw what looked to be like a dojo. All around, there were people dressed up as ninjas practicing…something or another. Niko and Fay weren't quite sure. After a minute of awkwardly standing at the entrance to the gym, one of the ninjas appeared right next to Niko, frightening the hell out of him.

"What are you here for?" she said, holding a fist against her palm.

"My name is Niko from Pallet Town, and my friend Fay and I are—"

"What are you here for?" she demanded.

"I was about to say, we are here for a gym battle with Leader Janine."

"Janine will be here in a moment, she is currently out of the gym. Please go wait over there," the ninja pointed over to a group of benches. The four—plus growlithe—sat down on the benches and tried to make small talk with some of the ninjas, only to find it more difficult than they had thought. After about ten minutes, a young woman in a ninja outfit with spiky purple hair that was pulled together with a hair tie. All of the ninjas immediately stopped what they were doing and turned to the woman.

"Master Janine!" the ninja from earlier declared. "You have two challengers from Pallet Town here to battle you."

"Ah, alright!" Janine said cheerfully. "Where are they?" The ninja pointed over to Fay and Niko. "Hey there! Which one of you would like to battle first?"

Fay raised his hand, getting off the bench and walking up the gym leader, who disappeared as soon as Fay got within touching distance. She reappeared on the other side of the battlefield.

"This will be a four-vs-four pokémon battle. Are you ready challenger?" Janine said, smirking a little. "Whenever you're ready…"

"Alright then, charmeleon, come on out!" Fay said, sending out the flame pokémon.

"Alright koffing, I choose you!" Janine commanded, sending out a purple ball that was emitting smoke from several of the holes protruding from its body. Niko pulled out his pokédex:

" _Koffing, the poison gas pokémon. Because it stores several kinds of toxic gases in its body, it is prone to exploding without warning_."

"Koffing, use smokescreen!" Janine ordered, her pokémon emitting a thick cloud of smoke from its holes. Charmeleon responded by using fire spin in a straight line in front of it, missing the poison gas pokémon but clearing a path forward. It ran into the center of the field, proceeding to use fire spin around itself.

Once the tornado disappeared, the field was once again clear—but no koffing in sight. Suddenly, Janine commanded koffing to use sludge, and the flame pokémon felt poison hit it in the back, causing it to immediately turn around and unleash purple and orange flames at its target. Koffing flew backwards as charmeleon rushed at it quickly and slammed its claw onto koffing. However, just as the claw landed, koffing exploded.

"Koffing and charmeleon are both unable to battle. Janine and Fay may now send out their second pokémon."

"Golbat, come on out!"

"Electabuzz, I choose you!" Niko pulled out his pokédex to examine the unfamiliar golbat:

" _Golbat, the bat pokémon. Once it strikes, it will not stop draining energy from the victim even if it gets too heavy to fly_."

"Golbat, use screech!" Janine commanded, and the bat pokémon emitted an excruciatingly loud sound, causing electabuzz and Fay to plug their ears in defense.

"Electabuzz, use thunderbolt!" Fay commanded. The electric pokémon then unleashed a bolt of electricity towards the bat pokémon, who evaded quickly and used wing attack at a close range. After the attack landed, Fay ordered a thunderpunch directly for golbat's mouth. Once again the rather agile golbat dodged the attack and proceeded to use wing attack once more. Electabuzz fell to one knee and, on Fay's command, released another thunderbolt. This time the attack hit golbat, bringing it down onto the ground.

"Golbat, get up and use confuse ray!" Janine commanded. The bat pokémon rose and, just as electabuzz was about to launch a thunderpunch up close, blinked quickly. The second its eyes opened again, there was a bright flash of light, and electabuzz stopped attacking. Instead, it looked around the battlefield, as if it was wondering where it was.

"Electabuzz, you're confused! You have to snap out of it!" Fay yelled out as the electric pokémon took another couple of hits from golbat. Fay commanded electabuzz to use thunderpunch, but the electric type spun around with its fist a few times before collapsing on its stomach. "Alright, fine. Return, electabuzz," Fay said. The judge then allowed him to use a different pokémon. "Gyarados, I choose you!"

The atrocious pokémon launched onto the field, terrifying the golbat, who attempted to use screech but realize it wouldn't have much of an effect. It then attempted to use confuse ray, but as it was about to blink once more, gyarados used water gun and sprayed the bat's large mouth full of water, causing it to fall onto the ground. Water spilled everywhere as golbat got back up to use wing attack.

It landed, striking gyarados in the side of the neck. The water type responded with a dragon rage, but nearly hit Fay's friends in the process.

"Hey! Watch where you're aiming that, gyarados!" JJ yelled out, turning around to look at the now burnt wall behind him. Gyarados shied away as it directed its sights back on golbat, who was about to use confuse ray once more.

"Dragon rage, gyarados!" Fay ordered. The atrocious pokémon then sprayed purple and orange flames everywhere, specifically in golbat's direction. The poison type, now engulfed in fire, flew around frantically as it attempted to put itself out, and instead crashed next to its trainer, defeated.

"Golbat is unable to battle, gyarados wins! Leader Janine will now use her third pokémon!"

"Weezing, come on out!" Niko pulled out his pokédex once more:

" _Weezing, the poison gas pokémon. Where two kinds of poison gases meet, 2 koffings can fuse into a weezing over many years_."

"Weezing, use toxic!" Janine commanded. The poison gas pokémon then turned bright purple and created a large purple circle underneath gyarados. It then cried out as the purple circle engulfed the atrocious pokémon in toxic poison. "There. Now, gyarados will take more and more damage every time it attacks."

"Then we'll finish this quickly! Gyarados use dragon rage!"

The water type was just about to attack when it cringed from the pain of the toxic. Gyarados collapsed onto the ground. Weezing then unleashed a sludge move directly onto the atrocious pokémon's forehead. The latter attempted to get up, only to unleash a rather weak water gun before crashing onto the wooden battlefield once more.

"Gyarados is unable to battle, weezing wins! Fay will now send out his next pokémon."

"Electabuzz, come on out!" Fay commanded.

"But…wait," Brittany said, "Isn't electabuzz still confused?"

Niko shook his head. "Returning a pokémon to their pokéball eliminates any confusion effects. I'm not sure if Fay knew that or not, but it was certainly the right move."

"Electabuzz use thunderbolt!" Fay commanded. The electric pokémon, now cured of its confusion, launched a powerful thunderbolt in weezing's direction. The poison gas pokémon retaliated with a sludge. The two attacks collided, creating an explosion of poison gas. Janine then stepped on a button next to her, which brought up invisible walls around the battlefield.

"This will shield us from the poison gas," She shouted out. Fay nodded plainly, and continued the battle.

"Electabuzz, use thunderpunch up close!" He commanded. The electric pokémon rushed at the poison type, its fist crackling with electricity. It then leapt into the air and slammed its fist on weezing's head, sending the ball of gas into the wooden floor below. It was about to follow up with a thunderpunch from the other fist when weezing then used a close-range sludge attack, hitting electabuzz directly in the face. The electric type reeled back, frantically wiping the sludge away using its hands.

Once it was able to use its hands again, it used thunderbolt to get rid of the rest, as well as attack weezing. The bolt was a direct hit, but weezing used self-destruct, causing the electric pokémon to launch backwards, hitting the invisible wall dividing it and its trainer.

"Weezing is unable to battle, electabuzz wins! Janine will use her final pokémon!"

"Alrighty then! Muk! I choose you!" Niko pulled out his pokédex for the final time:

" _Muk, the sludge pokémon. Thickly covered with a filthy, vile sludge. It is so toxic, even its footprints contain poison_."

"That thing has _feet_?" JJ wondered, seeming a little shocked.

"Apparently…" Niko replied.

"Muk, use minimize!" Janine commanded. The sludge pokémon then shrunk itself to half its size, evading a direct thunderbolt in the process. "Now, use sludge and follow up with disable!"

Muk then launched a ball of toxic sludge at electabuzz, who was still recovering from weezing's sludge, and then felt itself unable to use thunderbolt. Luckily, it was still able to use thunderpunch, but as it attempted to muk dodged it and used sludge, this time with the intention of finishing the electric pokémon off. It succeeded.

"Electabuzz is unable to battle, muk wins! Fay will not send out his final pokémon!"

"Mankey, I choose you!" Fay yelled out, and the pig monkey pokémon burst through the invisible wall. "Use mega punch!"

"Muk, use minimize once more and follow up with sludge!"

The fighting type, luckily, was faster than muk, and managed to sock the sludge pokémon in the mouth before watching it shrink to a quarter of its original size. Fay then commanded it to use low kick and send muk into the air. Mankey once again succeeded, and as it found the poison type in midair, it leapt up and used mega punch on its opponent's underbelly, sending the sludge pokémon even higher.

Muk then retaliated to all of this by releasing a poison gas, causing mankey to accidentally inhale the attack and collapse onto its knees in pain. Muk then _dropped_ on the fighting type in an attempt to crush the pig monkey. Mankey then stopped crying out.

For a moment, everyone believed that the match was over, since mankey wasn't saying anything. The judge was about to call the match when a glowing white light appeared under the sludge pokémon. Muk's body then began to encompass a much larger space from the evolving mankey underneath it. It was then shot immediately into the air, slamming its face into the ceiling and revealing the new pokémon below it.

" _Primeape, the pig monkey pokémon. Always furious and tenacious to boot. It will not abandon chasing its quarry until it is caught_."

Fay seemed absolutely overjoyed at this new development. He also learned that primeape could now use the move thrash.

"Yeah, primeape!" He screamed. "Let's finish this buddy! Use thrash and follow up with a spinning low kick!"

"PRIME!" The pig monkey pokémon screamed as it started slamming its palms into muk and, before it could even catch a breath, spun around and slammed the front of its foot in muk's eye, sending the sludge pokémon face-first into the ground.

"Muk is unable to battle, primeape wins! And the victory goes to Fay from Pallet Town!"

Primeape turned around and felt its trainer tackling it to the ground. The now exhausted pig monkey returned the hug and helped both of them get back up. As they continued celebrating on their walk to the stands, Niko then replaced him on their end of the field, waiting patiently for Janine to heal up her pokémon. It would soon be his turn to fight.


	35. Episode 35: Magnemite's debut battle!

**Episode 35: Magnemite's debut battle!**

After Fay defeated Janine, it was now Niko's turn to fight. Stepping up, he held a pokéball in his hand as Janine appeared on the opposite end, ninja-style.

"You ready, challenger?" She said cheerily. Niko nodded, and as the judge declared the beginning of the match. "Come on out koffing!"

"Shellder, I choose you!" Niko commanded, sending out his new water type. "Let's start the match off with a bubblebeam!"

"Respond with sludge!" The gym leader commanded. The sludge collided with the heavy stream of bubbles, both attacks dissipating in the center of the field. Niko then commanded shellder to use withdraw as koffing used smokescreen.

Niko waited for several minutes before the smoke disappeared, and ordered shellder to use bubblebeam once again. The attack hit an unsuspecting koffing, who then retaliated with a tackle attack, knocking the bivalve pokémon across the ground.

"Koffing, use sludge, close-range!" Janine commanded. The poison gas pokémon then rushed up close to shellder, and is it released sludge from its mouth, shellder used withdraw and followed up with a clamp attack on koffing. It then used bubblebeam in close range, launching the poison type through the air at an angle.

"Shellder, leap into the air and use clamp!" Niko said, quickly realizing that this strategy might not work, just like it didn't work against JJ's beedrill. In the stands, JJ was once again shaking his head, unable to understand the strategy.

"Koffing, sludge," Janine said plainly. The poison gas pokémon then unleashed a ball of toxic sludge, hitting shellder in the face. The bivalve pokémon accidentally closed its shell and crashed into the ground, the sludge sitting inside it.

"Quick shellder! Use bubblebeam to get the sludge out!" Niko ordered, and his water type responded with a fast torrent of bubbles shooting through the air, cleaning out the inside of its shell. "Now use clamp again!"

"Niko…" JJ sighed, putting his head into his palm.

Shellder successfully clamped down onto koffing. For a moment, it seemed too easy. Then, koffing used self-destruct.

"Koffing and shellder are both unable to battle. Janine and Niko will send out their second pokémon!" The judge declared.

"Come on out, golbat!"

"Magnemite, you can do this!" Niko said, reeling his hand back and pitching his magnet pokémon out onto the field.

The little electric pokémon fluttered around happily, realizing that it was finally able to participate in a gym battle with its trainer.

"Let's go buddy! Use thundershock!" Niko said, cheering on his little pokémon. Magnemite hovered closer to golbat and released a few electric sparks, landing a direct hit on the bat pokémon, who retaliated with a wing attack, sending the magnet pokémon down onto the ground. "Get up and use thundershock again!"

"Golbat, dodge and use wing attack!" Janine commanded. The two attacks collided, both pokémon flying backwards and landing in front of their respective trainers. "Now, use confuse ray!"

"Magnemite, we haven't tried this move yet, but use supersonic!" Niko ordered. Golbat blinked, creating a flashing light at the same time magnemite vibrated the tiny magnets on its arms. Both pokémon, now confused, attempted to once again attack each other, but magnemite's thundershock went in every possible direction (instead of being focused on its opponent) and golbat slammed itself into the ground in an attempt at using wing attack.

"Magnemite, use thundershock one more time! Full power!" Niko said, and magnemite released as much electricity as its little body could emit. Sparks flew in every which way, eventually shocking the bat pokémon as it tried using wing attack again.

"Snap of out confusion golbat!" Janine commanded. "Use wing attack again!"

The bat pokémon shot forward, trying to orient itself so that it didn't slam into the ground. It ended up successfully hitting magnemite, so released a thundershock in retaliation. Both pokémon collapsed onto the ground once again. However, only golbat was able to get up.

"Magnemite is unable to battle, golbat wins! Niko will now send out his third pokémon!" The judge commanded.

"Return magnemite. I'm proud of you. Go, kadabra!" Niko declared, tossing out the psi pokémon's ball. "Let's use confusion to start!"

The psychic type moved its spoon back and forth, emitting the psychic energy necessary to pick up golbat and toss it to the side of the battlefield. The poison type, snapping out of its confusion, rushed in with a wing attack. It landed, but kadabra used a close-range psybeam that sent the bat pokémon crashing into a nearby bench.

"Golbat, get up!" Janine said with concern. The bat pokémon struggled to get up, but as it did it used confuse ray, blinking and creating a flash of light that caused kadabra to start whacking itself in the head with its spoon. "Excellent, now use wing attack one more time!"

"Kadabra, snap out of it!" Niko yelled. The psi pokémon, realizing golbat was coming straight for it, shook its head and realized it was in danger. It quickly fell to its left, landing on its side on the floor but successfully dodging wing attack. However, it was still vulnerable to future attacks, and took yet another hit from golbat before getting up again.

"Golbat, use confuse ray!" Janine declared. "Let's finish this!"

"Kadabra, psybeam!" Niko commanded. The psybeam was faster, landing inside golbat's large mouth. The bat pokémon feel onto the wooden floor of the battlefield, finally defeated.

"Golbat is unable to battle, kadabra wins! Janine will now send out her third pokémon!" The judge stated.

"Muk, come on out! Use minimize!" Janine yelled out.

"Not so fast, Janine. Kadabra, use psybeam!" Niko ordered. The psi pokémon focused its psychic energy on the sludge pokémon, and unleashed a powerful beam of energy at its opponent. However, muk was quicker, and it shrunk to half its size, effectively dodging the move.

"Muk, use sludge!" The gym leader said. The sludge pokémon opened its mouth and released a ball of toxic poison aimed directly at kadabra.

"Kadabra, use confusion and send it right back!" Niko commanded. The psi pokémon used its mind to get a hold on the sludge attack and tossed it back at muk, who absorbed it like it was nothing. "Now, use psybeam one more time!"

Kadabra unleashed a psybeam directly at muk, aiming towards the ground this time in anticipation of a possible minimize. Such attack did not happen, and muk took the hit head on. In retaliation, the poison type launched a series of sludge attacks at kadabra. Some hit, some didn't as the psi pokémon use psybeam to cut through the torrent of sludge balls.

Muk then used minimize, shrinking itself down to a quarter of its original size. Kadabra used confusion to lift the sludge pokémon up and toss it into the ceiling before unleashing a psybeam simultaneously, hitting the bottom of the poison type and sending it crashing into the ground.

"Muk is unable to battle, kadabra wins! Leader Janine will now choose her final pokémon!"

"Weezing, come on out!" Janine shouted as she sent out the poison gas pokémon. "We're not giving in now! Use sludge!"

"Kadabra, dodge it with teleport!" Niko commanded. The psi pokémon disappeared behind weezing as it slammed its body into the poison type. The two opponents crashed into the ground.

"Weezing, use toxic!" Janine yelled out. Her pokémon, with kadabra still on top of it on the ground, started to glow purple and a circle appeared below the two pokémon. Kadabra then began to glow purple and yelped in pain as the toxic took effect. "Weezing, use sludge!"

"Kadabra, dodge and use psybeam!" Niko commanded. Kadabra then slowly moved out of the way, but the sludge hit all the same, smacking the psi pokémon in the stomach and knocking it back over. "Alright then, we can do this…use teleport!"

The psychic type disappeared, but reappeared right in front of Niko before getting down onto its knees, the poison taking hold of its body. Janine then commanded weezing to use poison gas, further weakening the psi pokémon. However, kadabra held it in for a bit longer, launching another psybeam, albeit an unfocused one that missed its target completely. It then finally collapsed to the ground.

"Kadabra is unable to battle, weezing wins! Niko from Pallet Town will now release his final pokémon!"

"Pidgeotto, you're my last hope, let's go!" Niko screamed, sending out his bird pokémon.

"Weezing, use poison gas!" Janine commanded.

"Pidgeotto, use gust!" Niko responded. Pidgeotto flapped its wings aggressively, pushing the gas away and back towards its opponent. The gas didn't affect the poison type, instead it sucked the gas back in and converted it to a sludge, which it then launched over at Pidgeotto. "Dodge, and use quick wing attack!"

Pidgeotto shot into the air and dove down towards weezing, its body practically glowing. As it was about to land, weezing launched a sludge attack. Pidgeotto moved fast enough that it didn't seem phased by the poison as it crashed into its opponent. Weezing cried out as it felt the force of the combination move. Immediately after, pidgeotto felt the damage from the sludge move as it crashed into the ground.

"Weezing, use toxic!"

"Pidgeotto, get back into the air and dodge the toxic!" Niko ordered as his flying type leapt into the air and flew away from the purple circle developing underneath it.

"Use toxic repeatedly, don't let it get away!"

Weezing kept using the poison move as pidgeotto continuously dodged the attack, moving left and right whenever necessary. It also evaded multiple sludge attacks from the poison gas pokémon.

"Use quick attack!" Niko directed. Pidgeotto then dove straight down and slammed into weezing, causing the poison type to crash into the ground once again. "Now, use gust!"

"Respond with sludge!"

Pidgeotto moved its wings faster than Niko had ever seen them move before. It, more than anyone on that field, understood the importance of not giving up in that moment. The sludge was then repelled by the strong wind, and fell back down into one of weezing's exhaust holes.

"Pidgeotto, finish it off with quick wing attack!" Niko commanded. The bird pokémon dove down at its opponent and, in what seemed like a split second, crashed into the poison gas pokémon. From the cloud of gas that erupted as a result, only pidgeotto emerged, flying back over to its trainer as the gas dissipated.

"Weezing is unable to battle, pidgeotto wins! And the victory goes to Niko from Pallet Town!" The judge said, throwing up a flag in the challenger's direction.

"Great job, pidgeotto. I'm really proud of you," Niko said cheerfully, stroking his bird's back as the latter rested on his right arm.

Janine immediately reappeared in front of Niko as Fay joined them on the battlefield. She grabbed something from her pocket, handing two small badges and put them in front of the two victors.

"Here is the soul badge. Fay and Niko, you have both earned this soul badge, as proof that you have defeated me in battle. I wish you both the best of luck in the future, and if you make it to the pokémon league in a month, I'll be watching," The gym leader said, winking in Fay's direction.

"Thank you, Janine. I had a great time battling with you, and I know my pokémon certainly did," Replied Fay, putting out his hand to shake. Janine gave him a curiously glance for a moment, and returned the handshake.

Later, at the pokémon center, Fay and Niko were celebrating their victories with their pokémon while deciding their next course of action with JJ and Brittany. JJ pulled out his pamphlet and region map and examined it for a moment.

"So you only need two badges now, right?" Niko and Fay nodded. "Alright, so there's a gym on Cinnabar Island and Viridian City. It might be easier to go to Cinnabar first, since Pallet Town and Viridian City are directly north of the island."

"How long does it take to get there?" Brittany asked.

"Well, probably about a week or so. Problem is we'll need to travel by water to get there. There's also the Seafoam Islands, so we can check those out on our way to the next gym."

"Sounds good to me, dude," Niko began, "What does the Cinnabar gym leader use?"

"The leader, Blaine, uses fire types. From the looks of it, he's pretty strong," JJ mentioned.

"Well, luckily both of us have water types. Pretty sure we can beat him, right Niko?" Fay asked, turning to his friend. Niko, with a mouthful of food, nodded quickly before continuing with his lunch. "And as for getting there, we can all ride on gyarados. Shouldn't be too bad, and I'm sure there are places we'll be able to rest along the way, right?"

"Let's sure hope so…" Brittany responded, thinking about the obvious dangers of water travel.

The group then spent the rest of the day in Fuchsia City, preparing for their long trip through the water to Cinnabar Island and the next pokémon gym.


	36. Episode 36: Elliot again!

**Episode 36: Elliot again!**

In the aftermath of their battles at the Fuchsia City gym, the group decided to travel to Cinnabar Island, which was the southernmost point of Kanto. It also was the site of their seventh gym battle against fire type specialist Blaine. To get to the island, they would have to travel by water on Fay's gyarados for the following week.

Riding gyarados was not as easy as it might sound. It took a few tries for JJ to get it right. After falling off the atrocious pokémon—both onto the sandy beach south of Fuchsia City and in the water on route 19—he finally got it right around midday on their first day of the journey. Fay even tried buying seats from a store in the city to put on his pokémon to make the trip more comfortable. However, he only found two, and so the group elected to switch after every stop. JJ, unfortunately, was not one of those people on the seats.

Around sunset on the first day, the group rested on a small sandy beach island to have dinner and let gyarados rest for the night. Sitting around a campfire, the group broke into conversation about their journey thus far. They had been travelling for months together and, through thick and thin, they somehow managed to make it this far.

"I'll be honest guys, I'm surprised that I've gotten this far," Niko mentioned with an air of humility.

"I didn't think you'd have problems," Fay replied as he pet charmeleon's horn. "Plus, you've got your pokémon to help you out. And all of us!" JJ and Brittany nodded while Niko smiled softly.

"That's true. I don't know, I guess I get nervous sometimes. Worried that something will go wrong and I won't know how to fix it."

"Well, if that's your problem Niko, then again, you don't need to worry about it! We'll always be here to help you out whenever you need it!" Brittany responded, feeding some burger pieces to tangela, who seemed to love it.

"You guys are right. Thanks."

"Anytime uh buddy," JJ responded. Moments later, the group finished dinner, wartortle extinguished the campfire and the group went to bed.

The following morning, Niko was the first to get up. He collected his stuff and packed it onto gyarados. As he did so, he turned around the atrocious pokémon to see the sunrise on the ocean. From Niko's perspective, it was one of the most beautiful sights he had ever seen. He looked down as shellder sat at his feet, also looking at the sunrise.

"Have you ever seen something like this, shellder?" Niko asked.

"Shell…der shellder," The bivalve pokémon responded.

"No idea what you said, but I'll take it," Niko looked down at his newest pokémon and smiled. "We've got two gyms left, and I hope that we can beat them both. We're going to get stronger, together, right?"

"Shell!" Shellder responded happily. Niko laughed, and returned the water type to its pokéball and put it in his backpack. As he was finishing up the packing, Fay, JJ, and Brittany were already up and packing up their own things as well. Half an hour later, they all got onto gyarados and continued south along route 19.

Several hours later, they stopped along another small island to have lunch. However, as they did so they saw a familiar face sitting along the opposite end with his nidorino, watching a scyther practice a slash attack. Leaping off the gyarados, Fay began walking over to the boy.

"Elliot! Hey!" Fay yelled out across the island. Elliot looked up, waving as he also stood up to meet his family member.

"Fay! What's up?" Elliot said, shaking Fay's hand. "Where are you guys headed to?"

"Cinnabar Island. That's where our seventh gym badge is. What about you?"

"Oh, I've got all eight of my badges now. I'm just training with my team for the next month until the pokémon league. Say, you guys want to have lunch together? Nidorino and scyther are pretty hungry now."

"Yeah, sure why not!" JJ exclaimed. "Nice to see you again uh Elliot. How're you?"

"I'm doing alright JJ…how're you?" Elliot said, trying to gaze away from the curly-haired trainer in a gray sweater. "How're you pokémon doing?"

"Oh they're doing great actually! Growlithe is getting much stronger actually!" JJ said cheerfully. "How're yours doing?"

"They're doing alright…getting stronger. I think we'll go far in the pokémon league."

"Well, you're going have to beat us first!" Niko declared as he and Brittany joined the group.

"Oh, sup Niko. Hope all is well with you, too."

Niko nodded. "It's been pretty great so far. Hey, after lunch do you want to battle?"

"Sure, why not?" Elliot said, shrugging.

The five trainers and some their pokémon then sat down to eat some of the fish Elliot had caught and made with his scyther. Fay also contributed some of the group's snacks. After lunch and some light conversation—essentially a retelling of their adventures since their last outing. Elliot also regaled them in some of his own, particularly his gym battles.

"So you've fought Blaine already?" Niko wondered.

"Oh Blaine? Yeah he was pretty easy actually. Don't listen to that silly pamphlet, whoever wrote that didn't know what they were talking about, clearly."

"Anyways, Elliot," Niko began, standing up, "ready for our battle?"

"Sure, of course, Niko. What do you want to do, three on three?"

"Yeah, let's go for it!" Niko said excitedly, returning his pokémon and running to the other end of the small island. He pulled out one of his pokéballs and turned to Elliot, who had also returned his pokémon and stood up with one of them in hand.

"Go, nidorino!"

"Hitmonchan, come on out!" Niko declared, sending out the punching pokémon. "Let's start off with comet punch!"

"Nidorino, use double kick!" Elliot commanded. The two fighting attacks collided, with nidorino blocking every comet punch with a double kick. Elliot then ordered his pokémon to then use horn drill.

"Block it with firepunch!" Niko yelled out, and the fighting type lit its fist on fire and slammed it into the spinning horn. Nidorino recoiled for a moment, the attack clearly failing. "Use comet punch one more time!"

Hitmonchan slammed its fist multiple times into nidorino's head before taking a poison sting to the chest. The punching pokémon took a few steps backwards, recollecting itself before taking a horn attack from nidorino.

"Hitmonchan, let's experiment a little. Use thunderpunch!" Niko commanded. Hitmonchan seemed confused for a moment, unsure of how to use this move.

"Niko, why are you trying to learn a new move _now_? Isn't that what training is for?" Elliot began, "Battling is for putting what you learned into action. Nidorino, use horn attack!"

The poison pin pokémon rushed at hitmonchan with incredible speed, crashing into the fighting type and knocking it onto the ground before the latter could muster a thunderpunch. Niko returned hitmonchan.

"Thanks buddy, we'll work on that thunderpunch. Great job," Niko pulled out his second pokémon. "Come on out kadabra! Let's use psybeam!"

"Nidorino, dodge and use horn attack!" Elliot commanded. The unusually quick poison pin pokémon evaded the beam of psychic energy.

As nidorino rushed towards the psi pokémon, Niko directed it to use teleport and follow up with a confusion. Kadabra disappeared and reappeared behind nidorino and proceeded to pick it up with a confusion attack and aggressively throw it across the island.

"Don't give up, nidorino. Use dig!" Elliot ordered. The poison type dug a hole into the ground and disappeared, only to reappear directly behind kadabra. "Use horn drill!"

"Kadabra, turn around and use psybeam!"

The psychic type focused its energy on its spoon as it whirled around quickly and used a close-range psybeam on nidorino, causing the poison pin pokémon to collapse on its side, defeated.

"Return, nidorino. We'll work on your speed." Elliot muttered. "Alright then, you're getting better, that's for sure. Go, poliwrath!"

Elliot threw out a pokéball that contained a large bipedal blue pokémon with two large fists encased in white gloves and a black and white swirl on its chest. Niko pulled out his pokédex:

" _Poliwrath, the tadpole pokémon. Swims powerfully using all the muscles in its body. It can even overtake champion swimmers_."

"Alright then, kadabra, let's be careful. This thing is pretty powerful." Niko muttered. Kadabra nodded in response. "Use psybeam!"

"Ice beam poliwrath!" Elliot commanded. The two beam collided with a small explosion. Kadabra then teleported out of the way and came up behind poliwrath. As it was about to use another psybeam, Elliot directed poliwrath to use mega punch. The tadpole's fist began to glow white, and it smacked kadabra with incredible strength and speed, launching the psi pokémon out into the water on the other side of the island.

"Return, kadabra. You did great, buddy. We'll beat it next time! Let's go, ivysaur!"

"Ah, I see your bulbasaur has finally evolved. Congrats."

"Thanks, Elliot. Ivysaur, use stun spore!"

"Poliwrath, ice beam again!" The ice beam quickly froze the yellow spores and proceeded to strike the seed pokémon. Ivysaur yelped in pain as its feet froze up. "Follow up with mega punch!" The tadpole pokémon then rushed at ivysaur, fist glowing white. As it was about to slam its fist down on the grass type's head, the latter released a stun spore, immediately paralyzing its opponent.

"Great job ivysaur! Now use razor leaf!" Niko yelled out excitedly. The seed pokémon unleashed a stream of sharp green leaves at poliwrath, quickly overwhelming the tadpole. It fell backwards onto the grass underneath it.

"You can get up, poliwrath," Elliot yelled out. "The stun spore doesn't last too long."

Elliot was right. After the razor leaf ended, with ivysaur still unable to move, poliwrath slowly got back up and proceeded to use mega punch. The powerful punching move was met with a fury of razor leaves, which poliwrath blocked with its glowing fist and then slammed it down onto ivysaur's head, ending the battle.

"Return ivysaur. You did good buddy, I'm proud of you," Niko said as Elliot returned poliwrath and walked up to him. "Hey Elliot, thanks for the battle."

"You still have so much to learn. You had the advantage so many times, with both kadabra _and_ ivysaur, and I still was able to beat you," Elliot said in a slightly condescending tone. "Listen, if you want to win the pokémon league, you're gonna need to train _way_ more than you are right now. And just be lucky that we don't have to face each other."

"Wow…" Niko began, "Well, I guess you're right, Elliot. I'm not as good as you are, and I certainly don't know as much as you do. That's for sure."

Niko walked back over to their lunch spot and began packing up. JJ and Brittany helped him while Fay talked with Elliot, scolding him at one point for giving too much grief and promising to beat him in the pokémon league if they ended up facing each other. Elliot nodded and, after saying farewell to the gang, hopped on his poliwrath and swam off in the direction of Fuchsia City.

Fay put a hand on Niko's shoulder. "Hey, man, don't worry about Elliot. He's full of himself, you just have to get used to it."

"You battled really good, Niko, don't sweat it!" Brittany said encouragingly. Niko smiled softly at the complement. Shellder, who had been watching the battle, turned on its side and clamped its trainer carefully. Niko got the message, and thanked shellder while returning it to its pokéball.

"You might be right, but so was he. I have so much more to learn and practice. I have to do better," Niko said, having finished packing his bag. The group threw everything back on a well-rested gyarados and began heading off west, now on route 20 and on their way to Cinnabar Island for their next gym battle.


	37. Episode 37: A tale of fire and ice!

**Episode 37: A tale of fire and ice!**

On their way to their next gym in Cinnabar Island, the group decided to go visit the Seafoam Islands. Midway along route 20, they were a collections of islands that, according to legend, was the habitat of the legendary pokémon articuno. With this knowledge, the group was excited to check out the site.

"So JJ, how much further do you think we have to go?" Niko wondered. His friend was in the middle of eating a sandwich when he heard the question lobbed at him. Looking up, he put up a couple fingers to attempt to indicate time. "JJ…I can't read that…"

"Ahem…uh…sorry," JJ muttered, swallowing his lunch, "I was saying we're almost there."

"Yeah, I had no idea," Niko responded, looking back at the ocean in front of him.

Southern Kanto was truly beautiful. The water sparkled like glitter with the midday sun's reflection. As they sat on gyarados riding through the water, watching rocks and small islands passing slowly by. Eventually they reached the Seafoam Islands, which were only recognizable because there were several islands groups together, each with cave entrances.

Getting off the atrocious pokémon, the group landed on the sands and unpacked Fay's pokémon. Moments later, they walked into the cave entrance, which was rather large compared to any ordinary cave.

"I guess this is the way inside…" JJ mentioned, walking into the damp cave.

They began to walk through a tunnel at a downward angle. It was dark, damp, and full of wild pokémon. Luckily, Fay summoned charmeleon to light the tunnel—as well as to ward off wild pokémon—as they began their descent.

"Do you guys know how far this cave goes?" Asked Brittany, who was trying to stay as far away from the walls as possible, due to her fear of wild zubats.

"No idea. Neither the map nor the pamphlet have any useful information on the Seafoam Islands. Just that they're a collection of islands that are the home to several different types of pokémon, like seel and it evolution dewgong," JJ responded, ducking an intricately-designed spider web.

"So they said absolutely nothing about articuno?" Fay wondered.

"Nope, not at all," shrugged the curly blonde trainer.

"Probably because it's supposedly only a legend. Don't think they want to mislead anyone if it turns out articuno doesn't exist," Niko added. The black-haired Fay nodded, signaling that he understood.

Eventually the four trainers reached the entrance to a much larger cavern. Problem was—it was freezing. Ice covered the walls and floor, reflecting everything around it like a mirror. Brittany and JJ began shivering, crossing their arms so that they could try and warm themselves up. Fay and Niko, both closer to charmeleon, were fine, but regardless still felt the cold temperature of the room.

"Say, let's make a campfire here and warm up," Fay said, looking around for something flammable. No finding anything, he was about to suggest they return back to the surface when Niko suggested burning leaves.

"Ivysaur, come on out!" The brown-haired trainer commanded. "Use razor leaf on the ground!"

"Great idea, Niko. Charmeleon, use ember on those leaves."

"Keep using the razor leaf, ivysaur!" Niko added as the seed pokémon stood close to the ember as it continued to feed leaves to the fire. "JJ, Brittany, get over here and warm up!"

As the group was warming themselves in the underground ice cavern, they looked around and marveled at the room they were in, as well as the unfamiliar pokémon inhabiting it. Niko pulled out his pokédex to get some data on them:

" _Seel, the sea lion pokémon. Loves freezing conditions. Relishes swimming in a frigid climate of around 14F degrees_."

" _Dewgong, the sea lion pokémon. Its entire body is a snowy-white. Unharmed by even intense cold, it swims powerfully in icy waters_."

"Wow, those two are so cute-looking," Niko said, putting his pokédex in his backpack. The two sea lion pokémon, presumably parent and child, were swimming around in the frigid water playfully. After a while, a couple more seels joined in the fun, jumping around in the water and playfully using water gun on one another.

In an attempt to make friends, Brittany sent out wartortle to go and introduce itself to the seel and dewgong. The turtle pokémon, shy and also freezing cold, decided against it, instead opting to sit by the fire that charmeleon and ivysaur were creating.

"Hey, guys, do you think there's more in this cave?" Niko wondered, "I kinda wanna keep exploring it!"

He was met with a solid "no" from both JJ and Brittany, both of whom were too cold to move. To remedy this disinterest, Niko began to think of a way to make their fire mobile.

"Hey, Fay, do you know if charmeleon's flame can grow? That way, we can all stand by it and continue to explore."

His friend thought for a moment, eventually nodding. "Yeah, I'm sure it can. Hey, charmeleon, use ember on your tail!"

The flame pokémon released a small stream of fire as its tail began to glow brighter. Smiling, Fay then asked if his pokémon would stand in the center of their group and walk alongside them to help everyone stay warm. Charmeleon nodded and, with ivysaur and wartortle returned, the group set off. JJ eventually let growlithe—who was still in his arms, despite starting to grow bigger—shoot off the occasional ember to help charmeleon out.

Eventually the group reached another tunnel, this one slightly steeper and led to a curved pathway, as if it wasn't naturally made. Walking down, they made it to a large, domed room with a small, snowy hill sitting in the center.

On the hill, however, was a very large and blue bird. Sleeping.

Niko mistakenly pulled out his pokédex:

" _Articuno, the freeze pokémon. A legendary bird pokémon. It freezes water that is contained in winter air and makes it snow_."

The legendary pokémon awakened, stretching its long wings and staring straight at Niko with a mixture of surprise and anger. Lifting off the ground by flapping its powerful wings, it rushed at the group. Luckily, all four of them dodged, but charmeleon got hit in the face by articuno's talon, knocking the flame pokémon onto its back.

"Niko! What the hell, man," Fay yelled out. "You pissed it off!"

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" Niko responded, also by yelling. "Hitmonchan, let's go!"

"Wait, we're fighting this thing?" Fay wondered. Niko nodded his head, commanding the punching pokémon to use firepunch. "Fine…let's do this. Charmeleon, use fire spin!"

"Growlithe, use ember!" JJ commanded. The two long-range fire moves combined as hitmonchan lifted its fist to collide with the stream of fire as it then rushed at the freeze pokémon with a fist on fire.

Articuno dodged all three attacks and proceeded to use blizzard, freezing all three pokémon and giving the group the chills. Fay then commanded charmeleon to once again use fire spin, but articuno dropped down to its level and rushed at it with its left wing colliding with the flame pokémon.

"Grab onto it, charmeleon! And don't let go!" Fay said as the legendary pokémon carried his around the room. Charmeleon refused to let go, even when articuno spun around in the air in an effort to loosen the lizard's grip. Charmeleon then used a series of embers and dragon rages to try and stop its opponent. The attacks seemed to do well…at making articuno even angrier. The freeze pokémon then shoved its wing into the wall, along with charmeleon, and dragged it across the room's circular walls. It then proceeded to fly high into the room, spinning vertically and finally causing charmeleon to fall.

"Charmeleon, no!" Fay called out with concern. His pokémon looked down at his trainer, and began to glow. By the time it was a foot from the ground, it had grown twice its size, its tail was twice as long, and it now had wings attached to its back. Niko once again pulled out his pokédex to observe Fay's new evolution:

" _Charizard, the flame pokémon. Spits fire that is hot enough to melt boulders. Known to cause forest fires unintentionally_."

"Wow…" Fay said in disbelief, but quickly regained control of his emotions. "Charizard, let's go after articuno now! Use ember!"

Instead of releasing a small flame, charizard unleashed a powerful stream of fire at the freeze pokémon, who took the hit and began falling to the ground. Charizard then rushed at the legendary, its wings glowing bright white. As articuno recovered in midair and used ice beam, the flame pokémon collided, sending both of the pokémon into the wall on the opposite end of the room from the rest of the group.

In the explosion of cold air that resulted from the collision, only articuno escaped. Fay ran over to his newly evolved fire type. He got down on his knees and caressed charizard.

"You alright buddy?" Fay asked. Charizard looked up at its trainer and smiled. "You did great—you fought a legendary pokémon!" He returned charizard to its pokéball, stood up, and faced his friends. "Let's go, guys, I think we've had enough of this place for now."

The rest of the group nodded, and walked back out still shivering, but made it outside all the same, roughly a half of an hour later. The feeling of the warm sun on their skin was a welcoming feeling to the group, and for a while they decided to sit on the sandy beach in front of the cave entrance.

"So…your starter has reached its final form!" JJ said excitedly, turning to Fay. "That's incredible!"

"Ha-ha, yeah JJ, it's pretty awesome. I'm very proud of charizard…" Fay said, staring up at the sky. "Guess it's a testament to my improvement as a trainer."

"You're definitely right about that!" Brittany said, "And didn't it learn flamethrower?" Fay nodded.

"Well Fay!" Niko said, standing up determinedly. "It's time to challenge our next gym then!"

"You've got that right," The black-hair trainer responded, also standing up. "Let's go, guys!"

And with that, the group got back on Fay's gyarados and headed off to Cinnabar Island, fired up from their encounter with a legendary pokémon and, for Fay in particular, an authentication to his growing skills as a trainer.


	38. Episode 38: Fossil Restoration Project!

**Episode 38: The Fossil Restoration Project!**

The group arrived at Cinnabar Island a few days after fighting articuno. The island as a whole was a town built around a rather large volcano. This was the first thing they noticed and, in fact, JJ wasn't convinced that it was Cinnabar Island at first. As they got closer it became more apparent that it wasn't just an island, but the actual town.

Arriving to the island, Fay returned gyarados again and the group walked along the water to the pokémon center, which wasn't too far away. Sitting down and healing their pokémon during dinner, the group planned out what they wanted to do while on the island.

"So there's a fossil restoration lab around here. And there used to be a famous mansion, but that was destroyed in the aftermath of a volcanic eruption. I'm sure there's still something left over, so maybe we could check that out too!" JJ said as he finished a hamburger and gave some of his fries to eevee and growlithe, who were previously playfully fighting over a small collection of them.

"Yeah, let's check out the fossil lab in the morning, and maybe whatever's left of the mansion afterwards!" Fay said, "And then the gym tomorrow or the next day?"

"Whatever works, we're not in a rush at this point, since we've got plenty of time before the Indigo League starts," Niko answered. Fay nodded in return, finishing his dinner as well.

The group headed off to bed, exhausted from the past week at sea. The following morning, Fay was the first awake and, before breakfast, went out to train with his pokémon. Over the past week, there was little time for actual training besides during their short times on the island. So the morning before his potential battle with gym leader Blaine, Fay figured that training was necessary.

"Alright, charizard now that you can fly, we need to practice your flight speed. Kind of what Niko's pidgeotto does, if you've ever watched them. Plus, we need to adjust for your weight as well, since you're not as light as pidgeotto is. So, let's try just flapping your wings, and as fast as you possibly can."

As charizard started with that, Fay wanted gyarados to practice dragon rage, electabuzz with thunderpunch, primeape and hitmonlee with mega kick, and finally dratini with dragon rage. Fay, who had previously learned how to teach the move with Elite 4 Lance, decided to make his own attempt at teaching it to his newest dragon. Dratini, however, was surprisingly difficult to teach. This is partly due to how little time Fay has spent with the dragon type, and partly due to its more rebellious nature. By the time the rest of the group were up and stirring around the pokémon center, Fay had barely gotten through to dratini.

After breakfast, the group moved off to the fossil lab, which was just down the street from the pokémon center. The lab looked like any ordinary rectangular building, only with a large dome on the top with a large telescope inside the dome. Walking inside, they noticed that it looked like the Power Planet, with scientists running around collecting data and operating machines. As they walked in, they immediately recognized a familiar face.

"Niko! Fay! JJ!" A long-haired boy said, running up to them.

"Ted?" Niko responded as the scientist embraced him in a hug.

"You bet! It's been so long! How have you guys been?" He said, also embracing Fay and JJ as well.

"It's going pretty good! We're in town to challenge the Cinnabar gym, actually," Fay responded.

"Oh, right right! You're challenging gyms! So…would this be six? Seven badges?" Niko responded with seven. "Wow! You're almost to eight and qualifying for the Indigo League!"

"Yeah, we're nearly there, it's exciting!" Niko replied, looking around the lab. "Oh! By the way, this is our friend Brittany. She joined us while we were in Vermilion City."

"Pleasure to meet you, Brittany. I'm Ted, one of the scientists here. I met these three while we were in Mt. Moon. Fay helped me fix my portable fossil restoration machine."

"Well, I did some basic maintenance on it. By the way, how is that going?"

"It's gotten a lot better! I've been improving on it a lot and I think we will be able to use it to revive fossils that we didn't even knew existed! I'm actually going to a faraway region in a few days to go explore some of the new fossils. Some region called Hoenn."

"Looks like things are going well then," Niko started, "Say, Ted, do you wanna battle?"

"Oh, pfft of course, Niko! But first, would you guys like to see the fossil restoration machine?" Ted asked. The group followed him down the hall and into a relatively packed room with a dozen scientists operating large machines and racks of servers. Ted led them up to a large machine in the center that looked akin to a healing machine, only with some crucial modifications.

"Alright fellas, let's start with the demonstration," Ted started, pulling out a light brown piece of rock and showing it to the group. "So, here is a piece of old amber. I found this gem over near Pewter City on my way back from Mt. Moon. We have theories of what might be in this, since other pieces are related to the pokémon aerodactyl, but we could still be wrong."

Ted placed the amber in a glass capsule in the center of the machine. Pressing a couple buttons below the capsule, the machine began to whir, causing the amber to glow. Suddenly, the capsule shattered in dozens of pieces, a rather large creature sitting in its place in the center of the machine. It looked up and around the lab, and then locked its eyes on Ted. Niko pulled out his pokédex:

" _Aerodactyl, the fossil pokémon. A savage pokémon that died out in ancient times. It was resurrected using DNA taken from amber_."

"Well, hello there, my name is Ted. We just brought you back to life, and we will take care of you," The scientist said softly, reaching his hand out to pet the pokémon. It lashed out at him, causing the boy to recoil quickly. "Looks like it isn't too happy. No worries, it'll be fine."

Ted called over another scientist, who attempted to sedate the aerodactyl until it opened its wings and took flight, scaring the other scientists and flying out of the room.

"Where's it going, Ted?" Brittany wondered. The long-haired scientist looked in the direction aerodactyl went, shrugged his shoulders, and ran off, his lab coat trailing behind him.

The group followed their friend outside to see where the fossil pokémon may have gone. Looking up into the now midday sky, Niko spotted something circling in the air on the other side of town. "Guys, I think it's over there!" The young trainer yelled out, leading the group in the direction of the missing pokémon.

They eventually reached the aerodactyl, who was sitting perched on a stone column in a burnt building looking around.

"That's the Pokémon Mansion," Ted began, "Wonder why it's here…hey! Aerodactyl! Come on down here, I want to get to know you!"

The fossil pokémon looked down at Ted, glaring at it with dark black and white eyes. As it was about to take flight again, the stone column under it broke as a net was shot into the air, engulfing the rock type.

The group ran into the burnt mansion, eventually finding a pair of Team Rocket grunts standing there with the captured aerodactyl. Finally noticing the group, they immediately began running in the opposite direction, sending out a rhyhorn to clear away any broken furniture and appliances.

"Pidgeotto! Use quick wing attack!" Niko commanded, sending out his flying type to cut the net containing aerodactyl.

"Wartortle, tangela, use water gun and vine whip on the rhyhorn!" Brittany commanded. The vines caught rhyhorn's back legs while the water gun collided with its back, knocking the rock type onto the ground.

"What do you guys want with our aerodactyl?"

"We weren't initially here to catch this aerodactyl, but when it showed up here, we had no other choice. We were here for…other things…"

"Like what…?" Fay asked.

One of the grunts chuckled, looking over at Fay. "Just some…exclusive items for our boss that were only available in this mansion, of all places."

"…what are you saying?" Niko wondered.

"We stole some stuff that will be useful for Team Rocket. There are some old diaries from the owner of this mansion, related to a pokémon that Team Rocket created many years ago. We're hoping that there is information in these diaries necessary for what our boss wants to do."

"Whatever you're doing, we'll end it! Charizard, come on out!" Fay commanded as his flying lizard shot out from its pokéball. "Let's use wing attack on the net!"

"Pidgeotto, you use quick wing attack as well!" Niko commanded as the two flying pokémon launched at the net, slamming into the grunts in the process, and cutting the net releasing aerodactyl.

"Wartortle, use water gun on the grunts! Tangela, vine whip!" Brittany ordered. Her two pokémon then unleashed their respective moves, hitting their targets successfully. The grunts, in retaliation, began to run away. As the group was about to chase them, a puff of smoke erupted in front of them. Once the smoke cleared moments later, the grunts were gone.

"They got away…" Fay said, seeming a little frustrated as he returned charizard.

"I'm sure this isn't the last time we'll see them, though," Niko added.

"At least they didn't get the aerodactyl. That's what I'm happy about," Ted said, walking over to the fossil pokémon. "Hey, I was serious about wanting to be your friend and taking care of you, but only if you give us a chance."

Aerodactyl looked at Ted cautiously, eventually responding with a "caw" and allowed the scientist to capture it in a pokéball.

"Thanks, everyone, I really appreciate the help."

"Anytime buddy, that's what friends are for!" Niko responded. "Anyways, let's get back to the lab. I still want to battle you."

"Why don't we battle here, actually? One-vs-one, whadda say?" Ted responded, putting aerodactyl's pokéball away and pulling out another one.

"Alright, let's do it then," Niko walked several yards away to separate himself from his opponent. "Hitmonchan, come on out!"

"Omastar, I choose you!" Ted responded, summoning his own pokémon. Unfamiliar with the pokémon, Niko pulled out his pokédex:

" _Omastar, the spiral pokémon. Sharp beaks ring its mouth. Its shell was too big for it to move freely, so it became extinct_."

"Hitmonchan, let's use comet punch!"

"Omastar, spike cannon!"

The punching pokémon furiously punched its way through the stream of spikes aimed right at it, ultimately socking the spiral pokémon in the face and knocking it back a few feet. Ted commanded omastar to use hydro pump in retaliation, but hitmonchan simply shoved its fist in front of the water type's mouth, spraying water in every other direction but the intended one.

"Lower your hydro pump!" Ted yelled out.

"Firepunch the hydro pump!" Niko responded. His fighting type then launched its fist into the ground, colliding with the powerful water move and creating a wall of mist between them. "Now, use comet punch again!"

"Hiiiitttt-monchan!" The punching pokémon screamed out as it unleashed a barrage of quick punches at omastar, who responded with a spike cannon that knocked its opponent backwards. Hitmonchan got right back up and began attacking its opponent once more with comet punch, hitting away the seemingly infinite amount of spikes aimed at it. Eventually, due to punching so aggressively, its fist began to blow. Noticing this, Niko got an idea.

"Hitmonchan, use mega punch now!"

The fighting type slammed its fist into omastar's face, launching the spiral pokémon several feet backwards and right in front of its trainer and defeating it.

"Return, omastar, you did a great job. And same to you, Niko. You're really getting better!"

"Thanks, Ted, and same to you. That omastar is pretty strong! Eheh," Niko said as he shook his friend's hand. "Say, we're gonna go heal up our pokémon, have lunch, and go challenge Blaine. You want to come along?"

"Oh for sure! But I'll meet you at the pokémon center, I'm going to head to the lab first and see if I can get the rest of the day off to watch you guys. Otherwise I'm in!"

Ted then ran off to the lab while the rest of the group headed to the pokémon center. Later that day, Fay and Niko planned to battle the Cinnabar gym leader for their seventh gym badge. Can they win?


	39. Episode 39: You better bring burn heal!

**Episode 39: "You better bring burn heal!"**

Finishing lunch, the group of four (plus their scientist-friend Ted) journeyed to the Cinnabar Island gym, where Niko and Fay would battle for their seventh gym badge. The gym was, interestingly enough, _inside_ a small volcano on a remote island away from the town. Ted had explained to them that the gym leader, Blaine, preferred to battle in extremely hot conditions, as a way of testing a trainer's mettle. To prepare, the group bought some shorts and light t-shirts before going to the gym so that they could be comfortable during the gym matches.

"So we should ride gyarados over to the gym, right?" Fay said, pulling out a pokéball until Ted stopped him.

"There's actually a ferry system that takes trainers to and from the gym. What if they don't have a gyarados to ride on?"

"That's true…Niko wouldn't be able to get there on a shellder!" Fay responded, laughing a little.

They proceeded to board a small boat (for free, at that) and sailed over to the island. Niko, who had mild problem with motion sickness, seemed to not enjoy the ride too much. Luckily for him, the gym wasn't too far away.

Finally landing, they entered the small entrance leading into the gym, which was a smaller battlefield than they were used to. Steam came out from vents in an otherwise ordinary looking battlefield. On the other end sat a bald man in shorts and a white tank top reading a book. He looked up for a moment, eying the group of five trainers, and smiled.

"Welcome to the Cinnabar gym! How may I help you children?"

"We're not childr—" JJ was about to shout out in response, until Fay cut him off.

"My friend, Niko, and I are here to challenge this gym. Are you Blaine?"

"Indeed I am. Very well, the gym match will be a three-on-three battle. Are you both able to do that?" Niko and Fay nodded. "Great! Let's get going. Ted, would you like to be the judge? I gave mine the day off today."

"Sure thing, Blaine!" Ted responded, walking over to one side of the field where a judge usually stands.

"Wait, you know the gym leader?" Niko wondered.

"Yeah, he volunteers with our lab occasionally."

"Indeed I do. Alright, which one of you would like to challenge me first?" Niko stepped forward, since Fay had done so at the Fuchsia gym. "Niko right? Then let's go. I hope you brought some burn heal," the gym leader said as he pulled a pokéball from his right pocket. "Ninetales, I choose you!"

Unfamiliar with the pokémon, Fay pulled out his pokédex:

" _Ninetales, the fox pokémon. Very smart and very vengeful. Grabbing on of its many tails could result in a 1,000-year curse_."

"Ninetales, huh," Niko began, "Alright then, shellder, come on out!"

"Let's begin with a confuse ray!"

"Withdraw, shellder!" Niko waited until the confuse ray had run its course before continuing. "Now follow up with bubblebeam!"

"Flamethrower to counter it!" Blaine commanded. The streams of bubbles and fire collided, resulting in a cloud of steam. However, the flamethrower was stronger, and proceeded to hit shellder square in the face, knocking it backwards.

"C'mon buddy, you can do this, use bubblebeam again!"

"Quick attack, ninetales!"

The fox pokémon rushed at shellder, only to meet a stream of bubbles aimed directly at it. This caused the fire type to redirect itself, nearly hitting a wall. The bivalve pokémon didn't stop the bubblebeam, however. Blaine commanded another quick attack, but as he did so Niko ordered shellder to use clamp on ninetales' leg.

"Now use bubblebeam up close!" Niko commanded one final time.

"Flamethrower, ninetales!"

The fox pokémon lowered its head and unleashed a stream of fire on shellder as it was taking damage from the combination of clamp and bubblebeam. Ultimately, both pokémon fell from the close-range combat.

"Ninetales and shellder are both unable to battle! Blaine and Niko will both send out their second pokémon," Ted declared.

"Hitmonchan, come on out!" Niko commanded.

"Rapidash, you're up!" Blaine tossed out a pokéball containing a large horse pokémon with a fiery mane, back, and tail. Fay once again pulled out his pokédex:

" _Rapidash, the fire horse pokémon. Just loves to run. If it sees something faster than itself, it will give chase at top speed_."

"Hmm…a fast pokémon. Got it. Hitmonchan! Use mega punch!"

"Fire spin, rapidash!" Blaine calmly directed. As the fighting type rushed in to challenge its opponent, fist glowing white, it was met with a torrent of fire that began to engulf it. Unsure of what to do, hitmonchan then punched the fire tornado and tried to convert the flames into a firepunch. It succeeded in doing so, and proceeded to rush in and sock rapidash in the side of the face with it.

"Nice job, hitmonchan! I wouldn't have thought of that…" Niko smiled, happy that his pokémon were learning things on their own, as well.

"Your pokémon is smart, Niko, I'll give you that. However, it won't be enough. Rapidash! Use take down!"

"Dodge and use mega punch in the side!" Niko ordered. However, the fire horse was much faster, slamming into the fighting type and sending it through one of the steam vents in the corner of the field.

"Alright then…hitmonchan, use mega punch again!"

"Rapidash, take down!"

The two pokémon repeated their respective moves, only to see the same result: hitmonchan getting knocking into the wall behind the steam vent. As it hit the wall, Niko commanded it to use mega punch once again. The fighting type slammed its fist into the horse's face, sending it flying to the right.

"Follow up with a comet punch!" Niko yelled out. The punching pokémon then launched into a barrage of punches that quickly subdued the horse that was trying to get up in the first place.

"Rapidash is unable to battle, hitmonchan wins! Blaine may now send out his final pokémon!" Ted declared.

"Arcanine, I choose you!" Blaine yelled out.

JJ, who was holding growlithe, looked in awe at the rather large dog pokémon. The puppy in his arms was equally amazed at the grace with which it entered the field. His interest piqued, JJ pulled out his pokédex:

" _Arcanine, the legendary pokémon. A pokémon that has been admired since the past for its beauty. It runs agilely as if on wings_."

"See that, growlithe? I think that's what you evolve into," JJ said softly to his little fire type. "Let's see it battle!"

"Alright hitmonchan, we can beat this. Use mega punch!"

"Arcanine, extremespeed."

Before hitmonchan could even get its fist to glow white, it found itself crashing into the ground, with arcanine standing behind it. Niko's jaw was dropped as low as it could go, unable to comprehend how quick this pokémon was.

"Hitmonchan, get back up! Let's use comet punch this time! Fight speed with speed!"

"Use flame wheel!" Blaine yelled out, clearly fired up by the match now. Both attacks seemed to land, the legendary pokémon lighting on fire and rushing at the punching pokémon, who responded in turn with a series of quick punches to the face. However, arcanine proved to be much stronger, and ultimately won the match.

"Hitmonchan is unable to battle, arcanine wins! Niko will send out his final pokémon!"

"Pidgeotto, you're my last hope, let's win this!" The trainer commanded. "Use quick wing attack!"

"I'm not familiar with that move, this'll be interesting indeed. Arcanine, use fire blast!"

Pidgeotto, who proved to be faster in this first altercation, struck the legendary pokémon with a combination of quick attack and wing attack before getting slammed in the chest by a five-pointed fire blast, which sent the bird pokémon flying across the field, eventually landing behind a steam vent.

"Use extremespeed!" Blaine declared.

"Quick attack pidgeotto!" Niko demanded. His flying type quickly got up and rushed at the fire type, both attacks hitting simultaneously and knocking both of them backwards. "Now use wing attack!"

"Flame wheel!"

Arcanine and pidgeotto continued to exchange blows, neither one seeming to give in. With each successive move, it seemed that they were both only getting faster. Realizing that this could only be decided with brute force to combat speed, Niko came up with an idea.

"Pidgeotto, fly up to the ceiling and dive-bomb arcanine!" He commanded.

"Arcanine, use fire blast and stop it!" The legendary pokémon released a burst of fire at the bird pokémon as it ascended the room. Dodging, pidgeotto continued to go higher until it was finally at the peak. It then launched downwards at its opponent like a rocket.

"Use quick wing attack now!" Niko commanded. Pidgeotto's body began to glow from using the combination of the two moves. Blaine ordered arcanine to once again use fire blast, but the attack didn't seem to phase pidgeotto, who was already heating up from the speed it was going at. It crashed into the legendary pokémon at a speed that seemed to rival its own extremespeed. Pidgeotto then miraculously came out from the cloud of dust that arose from the impact.

"Arcanine is unable to battle, pidgeotto wins! The victory goes to Niko from Pallet Town!"

"We did it pidgeotto! We did it!" Niko yelled out in excitement, hugging his bird pokémon, who returned with a chirping sound before falling asleep from exhaustion. He returned the flying type before turning to exchange places with Fay. A few minutes later, Blaine returned from healing his pokémon in a machine off to the side.

"Next challenger…Fay, right?" The trainer nodded. "Great, let's go ninetales!"

"Hitmonlee, I choose you!" Fay commanded, sending out his kicking pokémon. "Use double kick!"

"Ninetales, use flamethrower!" Blaine directed as the fox pokémon unleashed a stream of fire at its opponent. Hitmonlee, luckily enough, extended its leg and leapt to the side in order to evade the attack, and proceeded to lunge at the fire type and slam the bottom of its foot into ninetales' face. "Confuse ray!"

Hitmonlee was not lucky enough to dodge this time. Ninetales blinked, releasing a flash of light that caused hitmonlee to kick around wildly in confusion.

"C'mon you gotta break through this! Use double kick!"

The kicking pokémon did indeed use double kick…on the steam vent, and not ninetales. The latter then launched into a quick attack that hit hitmonlee in the back, and followed up with a close-range flamethrower, sending the fighting type into the corner wall.

But the kicking pokémon wasn't out yet (although it was still kicking around blindly). Ninetales managed to get in a few more flamethrowers before ultimately defeating it with a quick attack to the chest.

"Hitmonlee is unable to battle, ninetales wins! Fay will now send out his second pokémon!" Ted declared

"Gyarados, I choose you!" Fay yelled out, summoning the atrocious pokémon. "Use water gun!"

"Dodge and use quick attack, ninetales!" Blaine replied. The fox pokémon agilely evaded the stream of water and chose to use a close-range attack instead, slamming into gyarados and nearly knocking it backwards. The water type responded with a water gun as ninetales was running back to the other end of the field, and managed to successfully hit it.

"Now, use dragon rage!"

"Ninetales, use flamethrower!"

The two fire-based attacks collided, creating an explosion of smoke that took about a minute to dissipate. Both emerged from the cloud with a flamethrower and water gun, respectively, creating yet another explosion, this time of steam.

"Gyarados, go in close and use water gun!" Fay commanded.

"Ninetales, use confuse ray!"

"Close your eyes, gyarados!" This strategy seemed to work. The atrocious pokémon did not look at its opponent as it sent a burst of water in its opponent's direction, knocking it down onto its knees and ultimately defeating it.

"Ninetales is unable to battle, gyarados wins. Blaine will send out his second pokémon!" Ted declared.

"Rapidash, come on out!" Blaine yelled, summoning his fire horse pokémon.

"Gyarados, same strategy as last time. Let's use water gun!"

"Rapidash, fire spin!"

Once again, the attacks collided in an explosion of steam that covered the volcanic battlefield. Rapidash then went in for a take down, slamming into an unsuspecting gyarados and knocking it over on its back. It then used fire spin to engulf the water type in flames.

"Whack rapidash away with your tail!" Fay commanded. The atrocious pokémon did so, causing the fire horse to lose its balance and topple onto the ground. "Now use water gun!" The spray of water slammed into rapidash, who was not out of the fight but clearly damaged severely.

Gyarados got back up, wrapping its tail so it could sit up. It then unleashed a powerful dragon rage that immersed its opponent in purple flames. It finally went in for a bite attack, gripping its teeth onto rapidash's body, picking it up, and then slamming it back onto the ground.

"Rapidash is unable to battle, gyarados wins! Blaine will send out his final pokémon!" Ted declared.

"Arcanine, come on out!"

"Gyarados, use water gun again!" Fay commanded. The atrocious pokémon shot out a burst of water, but when it hit, arcanine was not there. It was too busy slamming into gyarados' body, knocking the water type down once again.

"Use fire blast!" Blaine finally commanded. The five-pointed fire attack hit the atrocious pokémon in the face, knocking it back down and finally out of the fight.

"Gyarados is unable to battle, arcanine wins! Fay will send out his final pokémon."

"Charizard, I choose you!"

"A fire type? Why would he do that?" Brittany wondered. There were no stands in the Cinnabar gym, so her, JJ, and Niko stood behind their friend and watched from a distance.

"Probably because charizard is his strongest, and can withstand most of arcanine's moves, as opposed to, say, electabuzz. Plus, charizard can fly, which is a plus against this pokémon," Niko, having already fought arcanine, replied.

"Arcanine, use fire blast!"

"Charizard, get into the air and use dragon rage!"

The fire blast was able to easily overwhelm the purple flames of its opponent, and proceeded to slam into the flying lizard, sending it falling back towards the ground. Charizard managed to catch itself a few feet from the ground and landed safely, only to be met with an extremespeed to the stomach. Fay then saw his opportunity.

"Grab onto arcanine!" The trainer yelled out. Charizard wrapped its arms around the legendary pokémon's torso and lifted it up, head facing downwards. It then launched into the air, spinning around in circles near the ceiling, still not letting go, before launching back downwards.

"Arcanine, flame wheel!" Blaine commanded as his fire type lit up in flames.

"Don't give in, charizard! Slam it into the ground!" Fay yelled out. The flame pokémon continued to dive with the fiery dog, ultimately letting go as it was a few feet from the ground.

"Arcanine, use extremespeed!" Blaine said as a cloud of dust erupted from the crash landing of his pokémon. Arcanine tried to get back up, but it was then met with a wing attack from charizard, knocking it back onto the ground. Charizard flew back into the air, turning around again and using dragon rage once it was close enough. Arcanine responded with fire blast but, alas, this time dragon rage beat it out.

"Arcanine is unable to battle, charizard wins! The victory goes to Fay from Pallet Town!" Ted declared, throwing up a hand indicating his friend's win.

"Great job charizard!" Fay yelled out gleefully, high-fiving his starter pokémon. Niko and the rest came to join him as Blaine returned his arcanine and walked over to meet them.

"Niko, Fay, you both did an excellent job today. Hey! The Indigo League is just in a couple weeks, so if you both enter I think you'll go far. Keep it up!"

"Thanks, Blaine, and we both intend on challenging the League. We just need one more badge," Niko responded.

"Well, I wish you boys the best of luck. Here," Blaine reached into his pocket to produce two red badges, both in the shape of a flame. "The Volcano Badge, as proof that you beat me."

The boys thanked the gym leader, and proceeded to exit the gym and ferry back to the main island. During the trip, JJ mentioned how growlithe seemed to be inspired by Blaine's arcanine, and he would start training it more.

Back at the pokémon center, the group ate at their usual booth while discussing the previous gym match and looking ahead to the next one.

"So…" JJ said, pulling out his pamphlet once more. "You only need one badge left…that would be in Viridian, right?"

"Yeah, that's the closest gym to here, and plus we can visit home on the way. It'd be nice to see everyone again," Fay responded, giving his dratini a french fry. "What's the name of the gym leader?"

JJ was silent for a moment, as if trying to read a foreign language. "It's…uh…blank. There is no information on this gym leader."

"What? Why not?" Niko responded in shock.

"I don't uh know. There just isn't. Here, look."

Niko examine the pamphlet. Under Blaine's information there was a short blurb about the Viridian City gym, but giving no name or type specialty or anything. It was odd for sure.

"Ah well, that's pretty strange but we'll just go anyways. Maybe when we get there we'll figure out why it's so hidden in the first place."

JJ nodded, putting the pamphlet in his backpack and proceeding to finish his dinner. The following day, the group would move north to Viridian City, hitting their hometown on the way.


	40. Episode 40: Growlithe's flame wheel!

**Episode 40: Growlithe's flame wheel!**

"Tentacool! Use poison sting!" A fisherman commanded. His jellyfish pokémon shot out purple stingers from the mouth on its underside.

"Growlithe, dodge and use tackle!" JJ replied as the puppy pokémon tried to dodge the poison sting, only to be hit on its path towards tentacool and proceeding to collapse onto the sandy beach under it. "C'mon buddy! Get up! You can do this!" JJ yelled out in encouragement.

"Tentacool! Finish it off with water gun!" The fisherman directed. His pokémon unleashed a torrent of water at the little fire type, overwhelming it.

"Growlithe is unable to battle, tentacool wins!" Niko, who was judging the match, declared. The fisherman returned his pokémon and walked over to JJ.

"Just a hint for ya, kid, don't use fire types against water types. Won't end well for ya."

JJ frowned as he held growlithe in his arms and looked back up at the fisherman. "Yeah, I know that. I sent out my pokémon first. I wouldn't have known what your pokémon would be."

"Hey man just trying to help. No need to get uptight about it!" The fisherman cried out. "Anyways, thanks for the battle. Catch ya later."

The group had spent the past few days travelling north along route 21. Their destination was Viridian City, where Niko and Fay would compete for their final gym badge in Kanto. Along the way, they planned to visit their hometown of Pallet.

Since the battle on Cinnabar Island, JJ's growlithe has expressed interest in getting stronger, after seeing Blaine's powerful arcanine in action. As such, JJ has been trying to teach it new moves and exercises to practice, as well as battle whatever trainers he comes across. Most of his battles have been defeats, usually against his friends while they were waiting for a meal to be served.

JJ sat down at their campsite on a rather large island along route 21 and cradled the injured growlithe. He reached into his bag and pulled out some berries and fed them to the puppy pokémon, who ate them in response and seemed to cheer up a little.

Niko, Brittany, and Fay all looked over at their friend as he was caring for his pokémon. They had noticed a change in his demeanor lately, from a bumbling 17-year old to a seemingly more mature, pokémon-focused, soon-to-be 18-year old. They continued to prepare dinner as JJ tended to his pokémon.

Eventually growlithe was brought back to health and was happily running around, playing with eevee and magnemite and some of the other pokémon as food was finished cooking.

"So JJ…growlithe seems to be getting stronger," Brittany said, breaking the silence between her and the three boys.

"I guess so. He's uh not as fast as I would like him to be, but it's a work in progress. I really think he wants to get stronger, and so I'm gonna keep trying."

"If speed is your goal, pidgeotto could certainly help train growlithe," Niko suggested, but the idea was immediately shot down by his friend.

"I don't think so, Niko. Pidgeotto's speed is different, since it flies. Growlithe can't copy that, you uh know what I mean?"

"Kinda. We're just trying to help is all."

"Yeah I know Niko. But this is something that I have to uh overcome, y'know?" Niko nodded, digging back into his salad. JJ did the same.

"So, we're almost to Pallet Town. That should be exciting, right?" Brittany said, again trying to rescue the conversation.

"Yeah, it'll be nice to see everyone again. I'm sure my parents and brother are gonna want to see my pokémon. Same with Professor Oak," Niko responded.

"Oh yeah, we'll definitely have to stop by the lab on our way through town," Fay added. "Maybe we got some new information from our pokédexes for him?"

"Maybe so," Niko said, putting down his bowl and getting back up to stretch. "Anyways, I think I'm gonna head off to bed. Night everyone."

As the hour passed by, Brittany and Fay also went to bed along with their pokémon. JJ continued to sit there, watching growlithe and eevee sleep, curled up against beedrill as it was propped up against a tree. It was a sight to see for sure, watching his three pokémon dream peacefully.

"We might not be challenging gyms, but we're gonna still be strong. As strong as you guys can be. Count on it," JJ whispered before falling asleep himself.

The next morning he woke growlithe and eevee up, and told them that they were going running as a team. As they did so, growlithe seemed to be outpacing eevee significantly. Noticing this, JJ began to smile. His pokémon was starting to improve a little. This improvement was short-lived when growlithe began to lose breath and, as a result, began to fall back, allowing eevee to catch up.

Getting back to the camp, the group ate a late breakfast before heading back out to train. This time, he wanted to emulate Fay's dodging exercises. He asked eevee and growlithe to jump from left to right repeatedly for a few minutes before instructing them to go and run a little bit more. This time, they were joined by some of the other pokémon, like hitmonchan, primeape, and wartortle. Pidgeotto, charizard, and beedrill even joined in, working on flying techniques in the air.

"It's great that everyone is so excited to train," Niko said, definitely pleased with the comradery of their group.

Brittany concurred. "Yeah, I like that they're all willing to help train growlithe as well. Plus, they don't lose anything by training, either!"

JJ then pulled growlithe aside and began to train it to use more specific moves. "Now that we've worked on your speed, I want to try a new move. It'll be hard at first, but we can't lose out by trying it. Do you remember arcanine using flame wheel?"

The puppy pokémon thought for a moment, trying to recall its inspiration using the move. Eventually, it nodded happily, eliciting a bark to communicate its understanding. JJ smiled.

"Excellent, we're gonna try learning that. So I want you to just run, run in a straight line that way," JJ pointed towards the other end of the island. "And while you're doing that, think about that arcanine's move, think as hard as you can. Now…go!"

Growlithe ran off towards the water, going as fast as its four little legs would carry it. However, no success in using flame wheel. JJ commanded it to try again, this time running back towards him. Again, no dice.

Sitting down in the sand, trying to figure out how to get flame wheel to work, JJ was at a standstill. He wish he could go back to Cinnabar Island and ask Blaine to teach the move to him and growlithe, but that wouldn't be possible. The island was much too far away at this point. He pet the puppy pokémon while deep in thought, trying to consider any other possible techniques.

Eventually, he got an idea. "Niko, I need your help."

"What's up, JJ?"

"How did hitmonchan learn firepunch?"

"Put his fist into fire, and eventually he figured out how to use it himself. Why?"

"I think I'm gonna try that with growlithe here."

"You're gonna light growlithe _on fire_?" Niko stepped back, shocked at this suggestion.

"Yeah. That way, he'll know what the fire feels like. Can hitmonchan help us out? I would ask charizard, but I feel like his flamethrower is just too powerful."

"No worries, JJ, we can help. Hey, hitmonchan! Can you lightly tap your firepunch on growlithe?"

The punching pokémon, along with Fay and Brittany, walked over to help out the little fire type. Fay, along with Niko, had his doubts about this move, but continued to watch anyways. This was JJ's lesson to learn.

Growlithe yelped as the fire surrounded its body, and it proceeded to rush forward to the other end of the island, eventually stopping in the water to cool off. JJ ran over to pick up the steaming pokémon, its fur a little charred from the attempt.

"Growlithe, I'm so sorry about that. I wanted you to feel the fire. That way it could be easier to uh mentally understand flame wheel."

The puppy pokémon, clearly not happy with its trainer, leapt out of his arms and began to walk towards the camp, licking its wound as it sat down to rest. JJ, feeling dejected, sat on the edge of the water and watched his pokémon heal itself.

For the rest of the morning and afternoon, the other trainers did exercises with their pokémon. Niko and Fay particularly focused on the newest members of their parties—shellder and dratini, respectively—with mixed results. Shellder was trying to learn a move Niko saw in the pamphlet a few days prior: aurora beam. Dratini, on the other hand, but struggling with learning dragon rage, and Fay was struggling with getting dratini to listen to him. As the sun was starting to set, JJ noticed the same fisherman from earlier training with his tentacool, this time against a goldeen. JJ watched him for a few minutes until the fisherman beat the goldeen and finally noticed the young trainer watching him. He walked over.

"Hey, you're the kid from yesterday, right?" JJ nodded. "Cool, how's the training coming along? I noticed you've been at it with your growlithe."

"It's not going too well. I'm trying to teach him flame wheel, but I can't seem to get it right."

"Well, here's some advice. I notice that your words suggest that _you're_ the one trying to learn it. Don't do that. Growlithe has to figure it out on its own. You're just there to guide it. That's what a trainer does."

"I see what you're saying. But how do I guide it?"

"By not setting it on fire, for starters," The fisherman laughed. "Hey, wanna battle?"

JJ hesitated for a moment before agreeing. Standing up, he walked over to his pokémon and asked for eevee. As the evolution pokémon was about to stand up, growlithe beat it to the punch, getting up and looking ready to fight.

"Growlithe…you want to do this?" The puppy pokémon nodded determinedly. "Alright, fine then. Let's go."

"Growlithe again?" The fisherman asked. "Fine, but prepare to have a difficult fight. Go, tentacool! Let's start off with a poison sting!"

"Dodge it growlithe, and use tackle!" JJ commanded. This time, growlithe was able to move out of the way, remembering its dodging exercise. It then rushed at the jellyfish pokémon, remembering its race with eevee, pretending that it was trying to beat its teammate after being overtaken by the normal type. It then slammed into tentacool, knocking the water type backwards.

"Tentacool, use water gun!"

The burst of water struck the puppy pokémon, knocking it down. JJ, trying not to panic, encouraged it to not give up because Blaine's arcanine never gave up.

Growlithe then remembered watching arcanine. Watching it run at gyarados, and charizard, and pidgeotto. It then backed up once the water gun was finished. Suddenly, little embers began to fly from its fur. And, even quicker, it burst into flames.

JJ looked in awe at his pokémon. The one he raised from an egg. It had finally succeeded in learning a move.

"Growlithe, use flame wheel!" JJ screamed out, throwing his hand to the side in a commanding gesture. The puppy pokémon then slammed into tentacool, causing the jellyfish to burn momentarily. However, it didn't seem too phased by the move.

"Tentacool, use water gun again!" The attack doused out the flame wheel and pushed growlithe back into the ground.

"Growlithe is unable to battle, tentacool wins!" Niko, who once again acted as the judge, declared.

JJ ran over to his pokémon and cradled it. "I'm so proud of you, growlithe! You did such a good job."

The fisherman approached his opponent, reaching his hand down. JJ returned the handshake, and smiled.

"You did a great job, kid. Keep it up, and that growlithe will be as strong as ever."

"Thank you, we're both gonna keep improving, that's for sure."

As the sun set on southern Kanto, the group had their last meal before departing for Pallet Town the following morning. JJ and growlithe, now with a strengthened bond, both looked forward to what the future lay in store for them as well.


	41. Episode 41: Home again!

**Author's Note: A lot of dialogue this episode for sure. That's really just the nature of it-catching up with family, Oak, etc. Hope you enjoy it nonetheless!**

* * *

 **Episode 41: Home again!**

"Fay, JJ, we're home…" Niko said as the group looked upon Pallet Town from atop a hill.

"Yeah, we definitely are…" Fay responded, the spring breeze blowing through his jet-black hair.

"Well, whadda ya waiting for? Let's go!" JJ said, running down with growlithe by his side. The rest of the group followed him down the hill and into town.

They were visiting Pallet Town, the hometown of three boys, on their way to Viridian City so Niko and Fay could obtain their eighth Kanto gym badge. The three decided to split up so they could each visit their respective families before all meeting up at Professor Oak's lab. Brittany decided to go with Niko to his home and meet his family.

"So what's your family like?" Brittany asked curiously.

"They're really nice. My Dad is a biologist, like I've mentioned before. He used to study in Vermilion City before we moved here. He now just teaches pokémon biology at the school. My Mom stays at home and does some chef work on the side. My brother is around 10 right now, but he's currently in school and hasn't wanted to leave on any pokémon journey yet."

"Kinda like you? I know you wanted to wait a while."

"Yeah, kinda like me. I guess he looks up to me in that way, or something."

"It must be nice, though, knowing that someone looks up to you like that."

"You're right. It's hard to conceptualize, though, I guess."

The two reached Niko's front yard, which was filled with berry bushes and flowers of a dozen varieties. Walking up to the front door, Niko opened it up, leading Brittany in first before closing it behind him.

"Mom, Dad, Jake? Anybody home?"

"Niko? Is that you?" A womanly voice called out, walking down the stairs to greet her son. "It is you! You're back!"

"Ha-ha, I'm in town actually. We're on our way to Viridian City and Fay and JJ agreed we should at least visit."

"Well, this is a pleasant surprise!" Niko's Mom looked over to Brittany. "Who's this?"

"Oh, Mom, this is Brittany. She's travelling with us. We met on the S.S. Anne cruise. She's from Vermilion City, actually."

"Oh well isn't that so? Did Niko tell you that we lived there for a time as well?"

"Yeah he did. It's a pleasure to meet you. Niko has told me so much about your family."

"Well, hopefully the good things. Would you kids like something to drink? Your father is outside and Jake is in his room playing games, but I'm sure they'd love to hang out with you both, too. We'd all love to hear about your adventures."

"Oh of course! That would be awesome! We have so much to tell you about!" Niko said excitedly. Suddenly a dark red-haired boy came barreling down the stairs and tackled Niko to the ground. "Oh, hey Jake!" The young trainer mentioned as he greeted his younger brother.

"Hey Niko! Long time no see!"

"I see you've gotten bigger…" Niko said, noting that his brother was now only half a foot shorter than he was. For being seven years apart, this seemed like a significant height difference.

"Yeah, one day I'll be taller than you!" The boy said excitedly. "Who's this? Your girlfriend?"

"What!?" Niko and Brittany said in unison. "No…no no. She is not. Just a friend I've been travelling with," Niko continued.

"Riiiiight," Jake said with a wink, following his mother into the kitchen to grab some juice. Niko and Brittany followed him in, sitting at the table as Niko's Dad walked in.

"Oh! Well look at that. Niko's back!" He said happily. "When'd you get here, son?"

"Just a few minutes ago, actually. We're visiting on our way to Viridian City."

"Oh really? What're you going there for?"

"Fay and I are going to challenge the gym there. It's our final badge before we can enter the Indigo League."

"Wow! You have seven badges already? That's incredible! By the way, who's the chick? Your girlfriend?" Niko slammed his face into the table while Brittany blushed a little.

"No honey, that's Brittany, Niko's friend that he met in Vermilion City. They went on the S.S. Anne together."

"Ah…nothing like a romantic cruise. I remember when your mother and I went on the S.S. Anne. And the only time. That's the year of the accident on the ship," Niko's Dad sat at the table as his wife brought him a glass of soda. "So…tell us about your adventures. How's Fay doing?"

"He's doing great. We're both getting better at training pokémon, although I definitely think he is better at it than I am."

"That's not true, Niko! You're a great trainer!" Brittany retorted.

"Eh, I could be better."

"Don't worry, Brittany, Niko puts himself down all the time. You should have seen him during school. Never applied himself as much as he should have."

"Anyways…he's great, so is JJ…"

"Oh, JJ is travelling with you?" Dad said, a little concerned.

"Yeah…he actually joined us as we were leaving Professor Oak's. He wanted to try the gym challenge but ended up just travelling with us and not battling. He's actually a lot of fun to be around, sometimes."

"Does he get on your nerves at all? He always seemed to get on mine."

"Sometimes, but I've gotten used to it, I guess," Niko mentioned, looking down at his glass.

Niko and Brittany then started talking about some of their adventures—the gym battles, the kinds of people they've met, and the like.

"Wait, so you met Elite Four Bruno?"

"And Lance and Agatha," Niko added. "I got to battle Agatha, Bruno helped Fay and I train our pokémon, and he gave me my hitmonchan. Lance helped Fay teach his pokémon dragon rage."

"Wow…and you got to meet articuno, too?"

"We did! It was freaking cold down there, too. Brittany can attest to the fact that we weren't ready for that. Fay's charizard actually fought it. Lost, but still fought it."

"Man, I always thought articuno was a myth. Good to know it's real. I would love to study it one day," Dad replied with some wonder in his eye. "Also, you said your bulbasaur was blinded by stun spore? How'd that work out?"

"Oh, right. So I was battling Sabrina, and she countered our stun spore with psychic, throwing the spores directly into bulbasaur's eyes. According to Nurse Joy it was only a temporary blindness, and its evolving into ivysaur really helped cure it."

Niko's Dad thought for a moment before responding. "You're right about that. I had heard theories of evolution as a means of healing pokémon, but we were never able to test it for ethical reasons. Glad we have a case study to base this off of."

"Hey Niko, can I see your team of pokémon?" Jake asked.

"Of course buddy, let's go outside!" Niko said, running out with his backpack, Jake and Brittany following closely behind. His parents looked at each other, got up and walked out as well. Niko pulled out all six of his pokéballs and tossed them on the ground.

"Ivysaur, pidgeotto, kadabra, hitmonchan, magnemite, and shellder. That's my team."

"Wow, it's really balanced! And your kadabra is so cool!" Jake said as he walked up to the psi pokémon. Magnemite excitedly hovered over to the brother of its trainer and happily attempted to shock him, until hitmonchan pushed it back a little to protect the boy.

"Yeah, kadabra is a really hard worker. They all are," Niko said as his dad was examining ivysaur.

"Yeah, you've raised ivysaur really well. Its bulb looks as healthy as can be. And its eyes seem to be just fine!" Dad said, standing back up and looking at the full team. "You've really come a long way, Niko. Your mom and I are so proud of you."

"Thanks, Dad that means a lot."

"Of course, son, we'll always support you. By the way, the Indigo League is in a couple weeks. You think you'll be able to make it?"

"That's the hope!" Niko responded.

"Well, you mother, brother, and I will get tickets to go and support you and Fay. Count on it!"

"Thanks guys. Anyways, I'll be back in a bit. Brittany and I are going to meet Fay and JJ at Professor Oak's!" Niko said as he returned his team and walked off with his friend to the lab.

"Ah, Niko, there you are!" Professor Oak said happily as the trainer entered the lab alongside Brittany. "How have you been? Fay and JJ here have kept me somewhat up to date."

"I'm doing alright professor, thanks for asking. This is Brittany, by the way. We met her in Vermilion City and she has been traveling with us."

"Ah yes, JJ told me about Brittany. Pleasure to meet you, I'm Professor Samuel Oak."

"Pleasure to meet such a well-known professor," Brittany said, shaking Oak's hand.

"Ah, well thank you. Means a lot. Anyways, Niko, I heard you're going for you final gym badge soon, is that correct?" Niko nodded in response. "Well, excellent to hear! It's an, er…peculiar gym. It'll certainly be interesting to see how you and Fay react to it. Anyways! You'll soon be entering the Indigo League, correct?" Niko again nodded. "Great to hear! How many pokémon do you have?"

"Six, sir, would you like to see them?"

"Of course."

"Alright, come on out everyone!" Niko exclaimed, summoning his full team of pokémon once again.

"Ah, your bulbasaur evolved. It looks great as ever!"

"Heh, yeah that's what my dad said."

"Your dad is certainly correct. Also, how many pokémon have you boys seen so far?" Niko gave Oak his pokédex. The professor examined it for a moment. "Ah! 93 pokémon. Excellent job so far. When you come back from the Indigo League I would love to see more of the specific data you've collected. It would certainly be worthwhile for all of us."

Oak returned the pokédex to Niko before taking a look at his team of pokémon. After a couple minutes, he looked back up at the trainer and smiled warmly, stating that he was pleased with Niko's performance as a trainer so far. He had said the same of Fay and JJ earlier, particularly with how JJ had been handling growlithe.

The full group went back to Niko's house to have dinner. There, his parents listened to more stories of their adventures, this time with Fay and JJ's perspective as well. The group talked more about some of the people they've met on their journey, like Ted and Elliot, and about some of the pokémon they've also met, like snorlax and aerodactyl. Fay and JJ later showed Jake their respective teams. The young boy was particularly interested in charizard and dratini on Fay's team.

The group then parted ways for the night (Brittany stayed with Niko, sleeping on his couch) and reunited the following morning.

"Niko, best of luck in Viridian City. We'll see you at the pokémon league. Please keep in touch," Niko's Dad said to him as he hugged his parents, thanked them, and headed off with Brittany to meet Fay and JJ at the lab.

"Ready to go?" Fay asked, holding a second bag with more materials he got at the store.

"Yeah, ready to go!" Niko responded, pumping his fist. The group then moved onwards towards Viridian City, where they would face a challenge more difficult than anything before.


	42. Episode 42: Ariana and Archer!

**Author's note: Yeah, this episode and the next are, admittedly, not my best work. But I did want to do something with Team Rocket. Bear with me as they will get better in the episodes following 42 and 43.**

* * *

 **Episode 42: Ariana and Archer! Team Rocket!**

The trip to Viridian City didn't seem to take too long, especially the second time around for Fay, Niko, and JJ. Entering the city, ready to take on their final gym badge, the group headed immediately to the gym. As they did so, they heard a scream emitting from near the pokémon center. Running towards it, they saw a group of Team Rocket grunts rushing out of the center.

"Team Rocket…again?" Niko inquired. "Probably another pokémon robbery. Let's follow them. Fay nodded, and the four began pursuing the grunts.

They followed the grunts for a few blocks before reaching an inn on the other end of the city. Watching the grunts enter through the door, they slyly followed closely behind, trying not to attract much attention. This ended quickly when the grunts immediately noticed JJ closing the creaking door.

"Hey! You kids can't be here!" One grunt yelled out.

"Get out before we force ya out!" The other one added, now holding a pokéball.

"Of course not. You stole a pokémon. Why would we?" Niko replied aggressively, holding out a pokéball of his own. Fay, JJ, and Brittany did the same.

"This is Team Rocket's new headquarters. If you continue to press us, we will fight you. _All_ of us," The first grunt continued. "And that is _not_ something you want to deal with. Sound the alarm!" Suddenly, the group heard an ear-piercing scream in their ears as the alarm sounded off.

"Bring. It. On," Fay said, "come on out, electabuzz!"

"Pfft, fine then. So be it. Golbat, I choose you!"

"Weezing, go!"

Niko finally summoned his own pokémon. "Shellder, let's win this! Aurora beam!"

"Electabuzz, thunderpunch!" Fay commanded. The rainbow energy beam collided with golbat as the electric pokémon socked weezing in the face with a sparkling fist. The grunts cringed a little as they watched these two kids beating them so easily. However, as the battle continued on, eventually more grunts were summoned, as the alarm had gone off alerting the rest of the headquarters of intruders. Soon, the group was overwhelmed as dozens of grunts surrounded them.

"Niko, Fay, how do we get out of this?" JJ wondered as he summoned beedrill and eevee, along with growlithe, to battle. Brittany did the same with her two pokémon.

"I guess we just fight. Go! Hitmonchan and pidgeotto!" Niko said, finally summoning all six of his pokémon. "Mega punch and wing attack!"

"Niko's right—there can't be _that_ many of them! Go charizard and dratini! Use dragon rage!" Fay added.

The battle quickly escalated, with all of the group's pokémon out fighting off the dozens of golbats, raticates, ekans', and weezings in the giant room of what used to be the Viridian Inn. However, as they continued to fight, their pokémon quickly wore down, exhausted from having to continuously fight a seemingly infinite amount of opponents.

"Wartortle and tangela are pretty tired now, guys. I don't know how much longer we can do this…" Brittany said as tangela took a sludge bomb to the face, collapsing into wartortle, who was drained of its health by leech life.

"We can't just give in, though…" Niko said before commanding ivysaur to use razor leaf again. "If we do, who knows what will happen."

"Well, we'd capture you, obviously," one of the grunts yelled out. She pushed back two red string of hair in front of her face before continuing the battle. "Golbat, use wing attack!"

"Hitmonchan, mega punch!" Niko ordered. However, the golbat proved faster than the now exhausted fighting type, slashing at it with its glowing wings, and defeating the punching pokémon. "No! Hitmonchan!" Niko clenched his teeth in anger, returning his fighting type.

Other pokémon began to fall, one by one, as the grunts seemed to overwhelm the group. Dratini, electabuzz, beedrill, wartortle, etc. As they were down to just a few pokémon left, a red light covered the room, immediately returning all pokémon to their pokéballs.

"What the—?" Niko said curiously as he looked around the room. The grunts all moved away, allowing for a tall figure dressed in white to walk up a flight of stairs to the main room. "Who're you?"

The figure, a man with gray hair, smirked with closed eyes before opening them and looking at the defeated group of trainers.

"My name is Archer. I'm the Chief Executive of Team Rocket," He moved forward until he was just a few steps in front of Niko. "We've been keeping tabs on your lot. Ever since you've given us trouble at Mt. Moon, we've tracked your movements. Our grunts are trained to keep an eye out for any vigilantes that might pose a threat to us, especially young trainers like yourselves. It was another young group of trainers that defeated us last time, and we refuse to allow that to happen again. So, thank you for finding us, because with you out of the way we have one less challenge in our way. Team Rocket will rise again!"

"No, it will not," Fay shouted back. "Even if we don't stop you, that doesn't mean you can't be stopped!"

"True, but you caught us at an unusually vulnerable moment. You see, we are resurrecting a secret weapon from years ago, and we are on the cusp of achieving our goals. However, in the moments before we achieve this, we are essentially defenseless, as the procedure requires more resources than we have ever used before."

"I don't follow…" JJ said, scratching his chin.

"Don't worry about it then. Grunts, take them downstairs. If they want to fight us, then they should get the privilege of watching our dream become a reality."

The grunts then surrounded the group, each trainer being taken by two grunts. JJ was the only one that tried resisting, and was slammed onto the ground with the help of a third grunt.

"JJ!" Niko yelled back upon hearing the struggle. As he looked back, the grunt shoved his face back around, obstructing his vision.

They were taken down several flights of stairs, past hallways that led to dozens of other rooms and laboratories. Eventually they reached the third to the bottom floor, and were then taken to a series of cells. The grunts also removed their pokéballs and collected them in a rather large black bag.

"Give us our pokémon back! What are you doing?" JJ said, yelling out to the grunts through the iron bars holding him back.

"JJ, don't worry, we'll get them back," Niko said optimistically, gripping his friend's shoulder.

"I don't know about that. How can we if we can't even get out of this cell? Plus, then we'd have to fight grunts without _any_ pokémon…" Brittany said, now feeling pessimistic.

"Guys, c'mon, we can't think like this…" Niko said desperately.

Hours passed by as the group sat in their cell, waiting for something to happen. Grunts continued to pass by; some taunting the trainers, and others completely ignoring them. After a while, they were released from the cell on the orders of Archer, and led back down the hallway, this time to the bottom floor.

The group was led into a rather large, white room. Lab equipment and machines were pushed up against the pearl-white walls, with scientists hunched over on their computers, entering data into some sort of program. At the center of the room was a large glass capsule filled with some green fluid. In front of it stood Archer and another woman with red hair that fell to just above her shoulders. She was also in white Team Rocket garb, only it looked more like a dress than what Archer was wearing.

They both turned around to see the group of trainers staring back at them. The grunts let go of their arms, allowing them total freedom of motion.

"Ah, they brought you here. And just in time, too. You'll get to finally see our resurrection. By this Ariana, my deputy, by the way."

"Why are you showing us this? What's the point?" Fay asked with genuine curiosity.

"All performances should have an audience, right?" Archer smirked. He looked over to Ariana, nodded, and then turned to one of the scientists on a laptop. "Let's get this started. Operation Resurrection is a go."

The scientist started typing furiously on his laptop, then looking up to signal to Archer that it was ready. They nodded to each other, and another scientist ran over to a button near the capsule and pressed it. The green fluid in the capsule began to swirl in a clockwise direction, creating something similar to a whirlpool. However, it began to move fast enough that it was starting to break the glass in the capsule. It was clear Archer didn't anticipate this, as he was yelling to the scientists to fix the problem.

The capsule then burst, spilling the fluid onto the pearl-white floor. But in place of the broken capsule stood a large, pink creature. Archer and Ariana looked up, in awe at what they have created.

"Mewtwo…you have been reborn!"


	43. Episode 43: The Rise of Mewtwo

**Episode 43: The Rise of Mewtwo**

" _Mewtwo, the genetic pokémon. It was created by a scientist after years of horrific gene splicing and DNA engineering experiments_."

"What the hell…" Niko whispered.

"Mewtwo…our creation…" Archer said, standing up straight and looking at the genetic pokémon. "My name is Archer. I am your trainer."

" _I am no one's pokémon_. _You are not my trainer_ ," Mewtwo stated.

"Of course you are. We—I—created you."

" _I am not yours_."

The genetic pokémon peered down at Archer and Ariana before looking at the rest of the lab. It floated out of the capsule and around the room. The Rocket Executive grabbed a purple pokéball out of his pocket.

"Of course you are! You will be MINE!" Archer yelled out, holding the pokéball and tossing it. The genetic pokémon slapped it away. "What…you can't deny a masterball…"

" _I will not be captured. I am no one's pokémon_ ," Mewtwo repeated. " _If you insist on this, I have no choice but to destroy you_."

"No! No! Agh!" Archer was clearly losing it now. He grabbed another pokéball, "Houndoom, I choose you! Use flamethrower!"

Mewtwo held its hand out and blocked the stream of fire before rushing towards the black dog and slamming its fist into the face of its opponent. It then grabbed houndoom's neck, picked it up, and tossed it across the room.

It was at this point that dozens of grunts were entering the room to help their boss. Several sent out golbats, muks, and weezings. All were, interestingly enough, susceptible to psychic moves. Mewtwo's eyes began to glow as it picked up each of the pokémon and tossed them into the closest wall to them.

"Houndoom, use flamethrower again!" Archer commanded. Mewtwo once again blocked the fire, this time using it to create its own firepunch, which it proceeded to slam into houndoom. Mewtwo, noticing the destruction it has caused, then fled the room.

Archer and Ariana looked towards the stairwell behind them, both clearly in shock. The former returned his pokémon and stood up straight, now deeply lost in thought. Ariana walked over to the group as the grunts rushed out of the lab in search of the escaped pokémon.

"Stay here. We're going after Mewtwo."

"Wait, why? Can't we help? What if it starts wreaking havoc?" Fay asked, a little panicked.

"You're our prisoners. Plus, we won't let kids get in our way anymore. We caused this, we will stop it by catching mewtwo."

"You can't, though. It doesn't want to be," Niko added.

"We will. We've done it before," Archer said as he grabbed Ariana's hand and pulled her along, despite her attempts at trying to get him to let go.

After a few minutes, Fay started walking around the lab freely. The four of them were alone, bar a grunt at the door keeping watch outside of the lab.

"What're you doing, Fay?" Brittany inquired as she watched her friend fumble through some drawers.

"Looking for our pokéballs. They have to be around here somewhere."

Niko got up to help look with his friend. After what seemed to be half an hour of searching—and no peep from the grunt outside—they finally found the black bag holding their pokémon, and proceeded to rush to the exit.

"Pidgeotto, quick attack!"

The door burst open, the grunt falling under it, as the group ran out of the lab and up the stairwell in pursuit of Archer and Ariana. They found the two standing outside in awe at Mewtwo's power as the psychic type lay waste to their grunt's pokémon.

"Electabuzz, charizard, come on out!" Fay commanded. "Thunderbolt and flamethrower, now!"

"Pidgeotto, use gust! Shellder, come on out and use aurora beam!"

"Beedrill, pin missile!"

"Wartortle, use water gun!"

The long-range attacks all converged at the genetic pokémon, who seemed to block all of them. Its eyes then began to glow once more as it picked up each of the pokémon and tossed them aside. Archer and Ariana looked over at the group, now in shock that they were able to get out.

"How—how did you…"

"You didn't hide our pokéballs that well, in all honesty," Niko said, winking. "Now, let us help."

"Wh—why would you help us?" Ariana asked in a panicked tone. "We captured you, stole your pokémon…"

"Because it's not all about you, or Team Rocket. It's about saving Viridian City," Fay answered. "Gyarados, dratini, come out and use dragon rage!"

The two pokémon launched out of their pokéballs and unleashed a torrent of purple flames right at the psychic type, who also repelled them, but also redirected the attack at dratini in particular. The dragon type took the hit, flying backwards in the wall of the Viridian Inn and collapsing onto the ground.

"Dratini!" Fay screamed as he ran over to his purple and white pokémon. "Are you okay?" He asked as mewtwo picked gyarados up and flung it into the Inn, causing the whole inn to collapse. "Return, gyarados, you need to rest."

"Ivysaur, use razor leaf! Kadabra, psybeam! Magnemite, thundershock!" Niko continued fighting alongside Brittany and JJ while Fay dealt with his dratini. His next three pokémon then met the same fate as the others—tossed around like rag dolls by the psychic move. "Close combat attacks don't work…long range attacks don't…what will stop this thing…?"

" _I don't want to fight_ " Mewtwo shot back.

"Then why are you?" Brittany yelled out in response.

" _You humans are forcing me to. I want to live in peace_ ," Mewtwo continued. " _My predecessor wished for the same thing, and now so do I_."

"How do you know about the other mewtwo?" Archer snapped back.

" _We are one and the same. I have a telepathic connection with it, as I do with mew as well. If you continue to challenge me, I will not hesitate to destroy all of you, or the rest of this city_."

"No!" Archer yelled out. "We created you! You are _our_ property! We will do what Giovanni could never do with the other mewtwo!" He pulled out the masterball once more, running up and tossing it at the genetic pokémon.

" _I have already said I will not be captured_ ," Mewtwo said, grabbing the pokéball and crushing it in his hand. " _Now, leave me be_ ," And with that, mewtwo flew off into the night sky. Archer turned around to the trainers again.

" _YOU_. _YOU DID THIS_ ," He said, running towards Niko and tackling him to the ground. He proceeded to punch the trainer before getting socked in the side of the body by hitmonchan's mega punch, knocking the Rocket Executive to the ground next to Niko.

"No. We did not. You did this to yourself," Niko stood up, his face a little bloodied. "You're a sick man hell-bent on catching a pokémon that does not want to be captured. Can't you see it? No means no, Archer."

" _I CREATED IT! IT IS MINE!_ "

"No, it's not. It left you."

"NOOOOO!" Archer got up, pulling out a pokéball. "Crobat, come on out! Poison fang on the trainer!"

As Niko was about to be bitten by the poisonous teeth, hitmonchan rushed in, taking the hit but shoving an electric fist into the bat's mouth. It then took a dragon rage to the side from Fay's dratini. The bat collapsed onto the ground.

"Crobat, get up you worthless pokémon! _Fight now_!"

"You really don't get it. You don't care for pokémon. That's why mewtwo didn't want to be with you."

"And that's why I don't want to anymore, either," Ariana spoke up for the first time since the group found them. "I'm going to turn myself in. I've realized this isn't worth it anymore."

"NOT YOU TOO! COWARD!" Archer screamed at the red-haired executive. "Houndoom, make her pay for her insolence! Flamethrower!"

"Dratini, dragon rage!" Fay commanded. The dragon type rushed at the black dog, unleashing a burst of purple fire at it. Houndoom, feeling the fire hit its side, crashed into the ground. Dratini then began to glow a bright white color, and proceeded to grow to twice its original size to become a dragonair.

"What…" Fay said, in shock, "Oh my god…you evolved!" Dragonair looked over at its trainer and nodded.

"Archer…" Ariana said, walking over to the executive. "Let's turn ourselves in, together. Give it up—we lost."

"No…I refuse!" He said, swatting away Ariana's hand.

"Fine then…I'll alert Officer Jenny. Children, can you keep an eye on him?"

The group nodded as the red-haired woman walked off. Half an hour later she returned in the backseat of a squad car while a pair of police officers exited the vehicle and apprehended Archer. After they put him in the backseat, handcuffed and all, they turned to the group.

"Kids, thank you. We don't know what happened here, and we would appreciate it if you came by the station to answer some questions for us."

"Of course, Officer," Fay responded. The Officer nodded and drove off.

* * *

Later, at the station, the four explained what had happened, with Team Rocket, Archer and Ariana, and mewtwo. The officers asked relatively probing questions, such as why they were in town, how they ended up in the Rocket Headquarters, and several other similar questions. Later, they were escorted to the pokémon center, where the group, after a long day of walking and battling, finally sat down for a meal and to let their pokémon rest up.

"So, Niko…" Fay said as he finished his dinner, "We've got our final gym battle tomorrow. Are you ready?"

Niko smirked as he took a bite of a salad. "Mhmm. Of course I am," He turned to his team, who was sitting down on the floor eating as well. "And so are they."

And with that, the group headed off to bed, weary from the day's events and more than ready for the next.


	44. Episode 44: The Earth Badge, Part 1

**Episode 44: The Earth Badge, Part 1**

Niko woke up first the following morning so he could get a head start on training his pokémon for the day ahead. He would compete for his final gym badge in the Kanto Region, and therefore qualify to compete in the Indigo League, which has been his goal since the start of his journey.

He started with jogging alongside his team before setting them up with individual exercises. Ivysaur worked on its stun spore; kadabra on psybeam; shellder on aurora beam; pidgeotto on quick wing attack and gust; hitmonchan on mega and comet punches; and magnemite on thundershock.

Looking out the window from the group's room, Brittany and JJ watched Niko spending time with his pokémon. Fay had left minutes ago to do the same with his team.

"They're determined, I'll give 'em that," JJ mentioned.

"They can't lose if they're that determined. Let's go get some food for them," Brittany said, motioning her friend to join her for breakfast.

Niko and Fay both returned to the pokémon center an hour later. Sitting down, they both quickly finished their food before heading off to the gym, which was just a short distance away from the pokémon center.

The Viridian Gym was an ordinary, plain building. For starters, it looked run down and uninhabited for ages. The group walked in, slowly closing the double doors behind them.

In front of them was an ordinary battlefield, covered in dirt and sand. The room was empty with the exception of a man—presumably the judge—sitting on the sidelines looking at his cellphone. Fay began to approach him, causing the judge to look up.

"Ey? What's up, kid?"

"My name is Fay, and this is Niko. We're here to challenge the gym leader. Are they around?"

The judge gave him a curious look, and then nodded. "Yeah, he's here. Lemme go get him," He came back moments later with a large robotic-looking man behind him. "Giovanni, these trainers are here to challenge you."

" _Giovanni_!?" Niko yelled out. "The—the former head of Team Rocket?"

"Yes, that is me. I am Giovanni, the leader of the Viridian City gym. Are you here to challenge me?" Niko and Fay both nodded. "Very well. It will be a five-on-five gym battle. Which one of you wishes to go first?" He asked. Giovanni's voice was raspy, as he seemed to be breathing through a machine. All-in-all, the former Team Rocket head looked like he was half man, half machine, as his legs creaked when they moved inside the gym leader's black suit, and he had a robotic right arm. Fay stepped forward, holding a pokéball in his right hand.

"I'll be your first challenger. Go, gyarados!"

"Heh, alright then. Dugtrio, I choose you!"

Niko, JJ, and Brittany walked into the stands as the battle began. They were all in awe at the final gym leader, a former gang boss, who was running a gym as if it had been his career all along.

"Gyarados, use water gun!" Fay commanded.

"Dugtrio, use dig to dodge it," Giovanni quietly commanded. He waited a moment before issuing another command. "And now switch to slash!"

"Gyarados, dodge and use water gun!" Fay ordered, but it was too late. Gyarados was hit in the torso by the slash, causing the atrocious pokémon to fall backwards. "Whack it with your tail!"

"Dig again!" Giovanni directed, and the mole pokémon disappeared into the ground once more before returning to the field to use slash once again, nearly defeating the water type.

"Gyarados, we have to fight this. You can do it, I believe in you…" Fay said, almost desperately. "Let's go! Water gun at full power!"

"Dig!"

"Now use water gun at the hole, quick before it comes back up!" Fay yelled out. His pokémon obeyed, unleashing a constant stream of water that eventually subdued the mole pokémon.

"Dugtrio is unable to battle, gyarados wins! Giovanni will now use his second pokémon."

"Nidoqueen, I choose you!" Niko pulled out his pokédex to examine the new pokémon:

" _Nidoqueen, the drill pokémon. Its hard scales provide strong protection. It uses its hefty bulk to execute powerful moves_."

"Use thunder," Giovanni quietly commanded as his ground type unleashed a powerful electric shock aimed directly for gyarados, causing the atrocious pokémon to collapse onto the ground.

"Gyarados, can you continue fighting?" Fay asked. Gyarados nodded its head as it began to get up. "Great, then I want to save you for later. Return, and go dragonair!"

"Challenger Fay has substituted his gyarados for dragonair!" The judge declared.

"Dragonair, use dragon rage!"

"Nidoqueen, use thunder again!" Giovanni ordered. The electric move halted the onslaught of dragon rage, causing both attacks to dissipate. However, it didn't expect the dragon type to rush towards it, wrapping its long body around the drill pokémon.

"Dragonair, use dragon rage!" Fay commanded once more. The attack successfully landed, but it was now Giovanni's turn to attack.

"Use thunder once again!" The gym leader commanded. Despite dragonair's relative resistance to the move, it was strong enough to loosen the grip on the drill pokémon, allowing it freedom to move around again. "Grab its tail and use seismic toss!"

The ground type gripping onto dragonair and proceeded to swing its long body around in circles before slamming it back onto the ground. Dragonair was nearly defeated when it unleashed yet another dragon rage, slithering across the ground, using the move as it did so. Nidoqueen endured the attack before using mega punch, and slamming its fist into the ground, defeating dragonair.

"Dragonair is unable to battle, nidoqueen wins!" The judge declared.

"Great job, dragonair. You fought well. Go, hitmonlee!"

The kicking pokémon rushed out of its pokéball, jumping left and right in anticipation of its opponent's first move.

"Nidoqueen, use poison sting!" Giovanni commanded. The drill pokémon launched purple stingers at its opponent, who dodged agilely and retaliated by swinging its extended leg at nidoqueen, slamming it into the side of its face. "Grab the foot! Use seismic toss!"

Nidoqueen grabbed onto hitmonlee's foot and used the same tactic that it used on dragonair. As it swung hitmonlee around, the kicking pokémon decided to use its spare foot by swinging it around, successfully hooking onto a chair in the stands and, in effect, stopping the seismic toss.

However, the countermove still hurt hitmonlee, as its legs were completely stretched out, as well as trying to endure the pain of halting the powerful momentum that nidoqueen created.

"Nidoqueen, use thunder again!" Giovanni commanded as his pokémon sent an electric shock through the kicking pokémon, causing it to unhook from the seat and fall to the ground. "Seismic toss once again!"

The drill pokémon proceeded to swing hitmonlee into the air and slammed it back onto the ground. The fighting type struggled to get up until it was slammed back into the ground by a powerful mega punch.

"Hitmonlee is unable to battle, nidoqueen wins!" The judge declared. Fay returned his pokémon, still not looking too concerned.

"Primeape, I choose you!" Fay commanded. "Let's show this gym leader that we mean business. Use mega punch!"

Primeape screamed to the heavens as it rushed wildly at its opponent. Nidoqueen retaliated with a mega punch of its own, causing both pokémon to launch backwards like rockets.

"Can you do this, primeape?" Fay asking his first caught pokémon. The pig monkey nodded, eager to battle. "Heh, alright buddy, let's finish this pokémon off. Use karate chop!"

"Thunder, nidoqueen!"

"Dodge it primeape!" Fay commanded and, just like he said from day one, the dodging practice paid off. Primeape leapt to the right, evading the thunder attack and proceeding to sprint towards its opponent. It jumped into the air and slammed its hand onto nidoqueen's head. "Now use double kick!"

The pig monkey continued it onslaught, landing back on the ground and continuously kicking the drill pokémon before launching a final mega punch to defeat the ground type.

"Nidoqueen is unable to battle, primeape wins! Giovanni will now send out his third pokémon," The judge declared.

"Persian, I choose you!" Giovanni commanded.

"Primeape, return," Fay said, "Gyarados, let's go!"

"Why is he switching out? He has the advantage!" JJ said, wondering what his friend was thinking.

Niko scratched his brown hair for a moment. "He's saving primeape for the tough fights. I think that's why he also isn't using charizard yet. Those two are his most powerful. He wants to conserve their energy. I don't know, but that's just a guess."

JJ nodded as if he understood. Noticing the unfamiliar persian, he pulled out his pokédex:

" _Persian, the classy cat pokémon. Although its fur as many admirers, it is tough to raise as a pet because of its fickle meanness._ "

"Gyarados, use water gun!" Fay commanded.

"Persian, double team and follow up with fury swipes!"

Multiple cats appeared that proceeded to rush at the atrocious pokémon from almost every angle. However, due to gyarados' size and length, Fay had a plan in mind.

"Gyarados, turn around and swing your tail at the copies, and use dragon rage on the others!"

The water type launched its tail at the copies, evidently swatting the real classy cat pokémon and sending it into the ground before using dragon rage on the others. However, due to previous damage from thunder and slash, the atrocious pokémon succumbed to the damage from whatever fury swipes managed to hit it.

"Gyarados is unable to battle, persian wins! Fay will send out his fifth pokémon!"

"Charizard, let's go buddy!" He said, sending out his starter pokémon. "Open up with flamethrower!"

"Persian, dodge and use screech!" Giovanni commanded as his cat unleashed a powerfully loud noise from its maw, causing the flamethrower to halt and charizard to close its ears in pain. "Now, use slash!"

"Charizard, use dragon rage up close!" Fay commanded, and his flame pokémon belched out a stream of purple fire at the normal type as it was about to land its claw into its opponent. Persian fell to the ground, hissing a little as it got back up.

"Persian, use double team and screech!" Giovanni commanded. The multiple persians then all unleashed the loud noise once again, causing charizard to fall to its knees while gripping its ears. Out of rage, it unleashed a flamethrower everywhere, getting rid of as many copies surrounding it as possible. It did not get the real persian, who came from behind and landed a slash on its left wing. The flame pokémon yelped in pain as it tried to pry the normal type's claw out of his wing.

"Charizard, fly into the air!" Fay commanded, "And use seismic toss!"

"Let go, persian!" Giovanni commanded. However, the classy cat was unable to release its claws from the wing until charizard began its descent, increasing its speed and finally flying parallel to the ground a few feet below it.

Charizard proceeded to spin around, eventually crashing into the ground on its back, sandwiching persian between it and the dirt. It got up, noticing that its opponent was no longer attached to its back.

"Persian, get up and use slash!" Giovanni yelled out. Charizard turned around and, as it was about to face an angry cat's claw in the face, Fay directed one final move.

"Flamethrower!" The trainer commanded. The flame pokémon unleashed a torrent of fire from its mouth, engulfing the classy cat before ultimately defeating it.

"Persian is unable to battle, charizard wins! Giovanni will now send out his fourth pokémon!"

"Nidoking, I choose you!" Niko pulled out his pokédex:

" _Nidoking, the drill pokémon. It uses its powerful tail in battle to smash, constrict, then break the prey's bones_."

"Charizard, let's continue to fight this. Use dragon rage!"

"Nidoking, use thunder!"

The two attack collided in a fantastic explosion of fire and electricity. Fay then followed up with a wing attack, and Giovanni with a thrash. Charizard's attack hit, but it then had to endure a series of punches and kicks from the powerful drill pokémon. It then used dragon rage up close while being attacked. The nidoking continued the onslaught all the same, as if it hadn't been hit with a flurry of purple fire.

The flame pokémon backed away before launching itself at nidoking once again, using wing attack. It struck nidoking in the side, and then flew around Giovanni to strike with the move a second time. It landed, but nidoking grabbed onto its tail and slammed it into the dirt before releasing a thunder. Charizard screamed as the electricity depleted it of its energy.

The fire type slowly got back up, turning to its opponent. Giovanni smirked, and commanded nidoking to use thunder once again.

"Charizard, dodge and use dragon—what?" Fay said mid-command. His pokémon rushed at nidoking and grabbed it, enduring the powerful thunder as it lifted the drill pokémon into the air. "Uh…alright, then, use seismic toss!"

Charizard screamed out loud as it spun around in the air before launching both pokémon into the ground, letting go just briefly before crashing into the ground itself. It proceeded to get up, but collapsed once again before it got the chance to stand.

"Charizard and nidoking are both unable to battle. Giovanni and Fay will send out their final pokémon!" The judge declared.

"Rhydon, you're up!" Giovanni said, now bearing a look of anger.

"Primeape, let's finish this!" Fay said, summoning his furious pig monkey pokémon. Niko pulled out his pokédex:

" _Rhydon, the drill pokémon. Protected by an armor-like hide, it is capable of living in molten lava of 3,600 degrees_."

"Primeape, let's start off with a karate chop!" Fay commanded. The pig monkey rushed at the drill pokémon with a glowing hand. It leapt into the air and slammed the chop directly on rhydon's head, right above its left eye.

"Horn drill," Giovanni quietly commanded. Rhydon's horn began to glow white, but the attack ultimately missed as primeape fell back to the ground and quickly evaded the attack, responding with a double kick to the rock type's chest.

"Great job, primeape! Now let's use a double karate chop!" Fay commanded. Both of primeape's hands began to glow, but as it rushed towards rhydon it was met with a rock slide that pummeled it back to the ground. Rhydon then used earthquake to further subdue the pig monkey pokémon. "You gotta get up, buddy! If you do, then we can win this! I promise!" Primeape struggled to get back up, but it eventually did, albeit shakily.

"Rhydon, use horn drill!" Giovanni yelled out. He could tell the battle was coming to an end, and Fay noticed that his expression was changing from an aloof one to a more determined one. Determined to win at all costs.

"Primeape, dodge and use double karate chop again!" Fay ordered. The pig monkey leapt to the right—again remembering his trainer's exercises, and launched itself at the drill pokémon, both hands glowing. The attack successfully landed, but rhydon shoved it out of the way and proceeded to use rock slide once again.

Fay commanded primeape to use karate chop and double kick to break through the rocks. The strategy was successful enough that rhydon used earthquake in retaliation, trying to cause primeape to falter. But the fighting type didn't—it endured the aggressively shaking ground and switched to just using karate chop so it could maintain its balance.

The attacks subsided, and Fay and primeape went in for the kill with another double karate chop. It was met with rhydon's fury attack, and the two began to exchange blows continuously, before primeape eventually gained the upper hand and slammed its hand into rhydon's throat, causing the rock type to step backwards, gripping its throat in pain.

"Now's our chance, primeape! Use double kick!"

"Rhydon, earthquake!" Giovanni commanded.

As primeape rushed forwards at his opponent, he did his best to find balance on the ground. Eventually jumping up into the air, high above rhydon. It then landed its foot on rhydon's head, right behind the horn, causing the drill pokémon to break the ground under it.

"Now, use double karate chop!" Fay finally commanded. Doing a front flip and landing as the earthquake subsided, the pig monkey turned around and used a final double karate chop on rhydon's back. The rock type collapsed onto the ground, face first.

"Rhydon is unable to battle, primeape wins! The victory goes to Fay from Pallet Town!" The judge declared.

"Primeape! We did it buddy!" Fay exclaimed, rushing to his fighting type and embracing it. Primeape laughed in excitement, albeit exhausted from the fight. Fay returned it and turned to Niko, who had just left the stands and was ready to fight.


	45. Episode 45: The Earth Badge, Part 2

**Episode 45: The Earth Badge, Part 2**

Niko stood at his end of the battlefield as he waited for the judge to return with Giovanni's healed pokémon. Already knowing the gym leader's lineup, he had his first pokéball ready to go. As it turned out, so did Giovanni.

"Dugtrio, go."

"Shellder, I choose you!" Niko commanded, sending out the bivalve pokémon. "Let's start off with a bubblebeam!"

"Dugtrio, use dig and evade the move."

"Wait for it, shellder…" Niko cautioned. Dugtrio then popped up under the water type, launching it into the air. "Now look down and use aurora beam!"

Shellder launched a rainbow-colored beam of energy at its opponent, halting it in its path and it then clamped down on it. Niko then commanded it use bubblebeam to further subdue the pokémon.

"Dugtrio, use slash!" Giovanni said. The mole pokémon responded, slashing at shellder and causing it to release its vice-like grip on it. "Now, use earthquake!"

Shellder fell to the ground just as the earth began to vigorously shake underneath it. It tried to use bubblebeam, but it found difficulty in properly aiming the move. Nevertheless, it endured the attack as Dugtrio used dig once again.

"Wait for it…" Niko said, having previously counted the length of time the attack took to hit before yelling, "Now! Jump into the air and use clamp!" Dugtrio came out of the ground, on time, and felt the bivalve pokémon clamp onto one of its heads. "Now, use aurora beam!"

Shellder unleashed the attack, creating a bright light that emitted from under its shell. It then released its grip and fell off dugtrio, revealing a defeated pokémon.

"Dugtrio is unable to battle, shellder wins! Giovanni will now send out his second pokémon."

"Nidoking, let's go!"

"Shellder, return. You did a great job, buddy," Niko said before pulling out his next pokémon. "Kadabra, you're up!"

"Challenger Niko has substituted his shellder for his kadabra!" The judge declared.

"Let's start off with psybeam!" Niko ordered. Nidoking retaliated with a thunder, which broke the psybeam and proceeded to hit kadabra. However, the psi pokémon teleported out of the way and used psybeam once again, this time landing a direct hit on its opponent.

"Nidoking, use thrash!"

"Stop it with a confusion attack!" Niko demanded. Kadabra attempted to pick up the drill pokémon, only succeeding it moving it about five feet off the ground before breaking its focus—likely to the weight of the pokémon—and crashing it back onto the battlefield. "Alright, let's not use confusion. Psybeam once again!"

"Nidoking, thunder!" Giovanni yelled out. The two attacked collided, creating an explosion of energy. The drill pokémon then rushed forward, tackling kadabra and using thrash up close. It slammed its hands into the psi pokémon several times before picking it up and crashing it into the ground. "Now, use earthquake!"

"Kadabra, teleport on top of nidoking!" Niko commanded as the earth began to shake. Kadabra reappeared grabbing onto nidoking's neck. It then brought its two hands together around its opponent's neck and released a close-range psybeam, launching it backwards and causing the drill pokémon to fall forward.

"Nidoking, get up and use thunder once again!" Giovanni screamed out.

"Kadabra, use confusion and stop the thunder!"

The psychic type's eyes began to glow as it used every ounce of energy left in it to lift the ground type into the air, releasing a psybeam as it crashed nidoking back onto the ground.

"Nidoking is unable to battle, kadabra wins! Giovanni will now use his third pokémon!"

"Persian, let's go!"

"Kadabra, be weary of this one. It's pretty fast," Niko cautioned to his now exhausted psychic pokémon. Kadabra turned to its trainer, nodded and gave a thumbs up before using psybeam.

"Dodge and use double team!" Giovanni commanded. The classy cat then created multiple copies of itself and surrounded kadabra. "Slash!"

As the dozen copies of persian rushed at kadabra, the latter teleported away, using successive psybeams after reappearing. It eventually caught the original copy and used confusion to lift it into the air and toss it against the wall beneath the stands. However, kadabra was exhausted from the fighting, and collapsed onto one knee before enduring a slash attack from persian.

"Kadabra, you got this, use psybeam up close!"

Kadabra mustered one final psybeam before succumbing to a series of fury swipes from the normal type.

"Kadabra is unable to battle, persian wins! Niko will send out his next pokémon!" The judge declared.

"Pidgeotto, let's go!" Niko commanded as he summoned his flying type. "Right out of the door, let's use quick wing attack!"

"Double team, persian!"

"Halt the move, pidgeotto," Niko commanded as the bird pokémon stopped in mid-air. "Use gust instead!"

The flying type flapped its wings aggressively in an attempt to eliminate the copies. It succeeded, and then dove to use wing attack on the rest of them. It eventually hit persian, but also felt the classy cat's claw stab it in the wing, causing the flying type to crash into the ground. Persian then used fury swipes, only to be slapped in the face by pidgeotto's wing as it got back up and used sand attack, kicking the particles of dirt into the cat's eyes.

"Screech!" Giovanni screamed out.

The shockingly loud noise pieced pidgeotto's eardrums as it tried to get away, only to be slashed at—albeit surprisingly well—by persian. Pidgeotto endured the attack and proceeded to fly back into the air. Taking advantage of the partially blind normal type, it then used quick wing attack, crashing into its opponent and coming out successful. Persian then used screech continuously, making it difficult for the bird pokémon to control its movements. The flying type took a dive-bomb into the ground, only to be slashed at by the classy cat, who had now gotten most of the dirt out of its eyes.

"Pidgeotto, use sand attack once more!" Niko commanded.

"Persian, double team!" Giovanni said as the classy cat surrounded pidgeotto. The latter managed to blind one of the copies, but it didn't help much with another dozen had perfect vision and were rushing at it with sharp claws.

"Fly into the air and use gust once again!" Pidgeotto shot into the air and, with some energy still in it, blasted the copies with a powerful gust of wind, defeating some of them and repeating its first strategy by dive-bombing the others with wing attack. It eventually slammed into the real persian, knocking its glowing white wing into the classy cat's neck and sliding it across the battlefield. Persian collapsed onto the ground in the aftermath of the attack.

"Persian is unable to battle, pidgeotto wins! Giovanni will now send out his fourth pokémon!" The judge declared.

"Nidoqueen, you're up. Use thunder!"

"Use gust to kick up sand and protect yourself!" Niko said on the fly, impressing even himself with the sudden countermove. However, it didn't help too much, as pidgeotto still felt the electric shock, albeit much weaker than it would have been otherwise.

"Nidoqueen, use poison sting!" Giovanni yelled out. The drill pokémon then unleashed a series of small purple beams from its horn right at pidgeotto. The bird pokémon flew into the air to dodge the move successfully, and proceeded to go into for a quick wing attack. The attack successfully landed, slamming into nidoqueen and managing to push it backwards a few feet.

However, before pidgeotto could escape, Giovanni commanded his pokémon to use mega punch, and nidoqueen's glowing fist brought the bird pokémon crashing into the battlefield.

"Finish it off with thunder!"

"Pidgeotto, dodge it!" Niko screamed out. It was too late—the attack hit and defeated pidgeotto.

"Pidgeotto is unable to battle, nidoqueen wins! Niko will now send out his next pokémon."

"Hitmonchan, let's go!" The challenger commanded, sending out his fighting type. "Let's give them a taste of their own medicine! Use mega punch!"

"Nidoqueen, use thunder!"

"Absorb the thunder, hitmonchan!"

"What!?" Giovanni, JJ, and Brittany all cried in confusion.

The punching pokémon lifted both of its glowing fists into the air as it took the thunder like a lightning rod, creating a thunderpunch. It then slammed its gloves into the ground, eliminating the attack.

"Heh, wondered if that would work…" Niko laughed nervously. Hitmonchan turned to its trainer and smiled with a mixture of eagerness and determination. "Alright, let's get serious now. Use comet punch!"

"Nidoqueen, use poison sting!"

"Block the attack with comet punch!" Niko demanded. Hitmonchan obeyed, and aggressively punched the poison attack as it slowly approached its opponent. Eventually the attack ended, and nidoqueen responded with its own mega punch. Niko commanded hitmonchan to switch to mega punch, and the attack collided, both pokémon not giving in. The sheer power of their combined moves caused the ground to cave in a little, creating a small crater beneath the two opponents.

"Nidoqueen here's our chance! Use thunder!"

"Hitmonchan, comet punch!" Niko demanded. As nidoqueen released its punch to unleash a powerful electric attack, it was suddenly punched repeatedly in the stomach by hitmonchan, who refused to give in and endured the attack.

Nidoqueen stepped backwards, clutching its stomach as hitmonchan then proceeded to use firepunch to uppercut its opponent. The ground type fell backwards, but it was far from defeated.

"Nidoqueen, use double kick!" Giovanni commanded. The drill pokémon placed one hand on the ground and it swiped at hitmonchan with its foot, causing the punching pokémon to lose its balance and collapse onto the ground. "Now, use thunder!"

"Hitmonchan, get up and use mega punch one more time!" Niko commanded and, before the thunder launched, the fighting type rushed at its opponent, its fist glowing white, and landed a final mega punch into the ground type. Nidoqueen fell backwards, not able to get up a second time.

"Nidoqueen is unable to battle, hitmonchan wins! Giovanni will now send out his final pokémon!"

"Wow! Niko is doing really good!" JJ mentioned in awe.

"Yeah, but Giovanni's rhydon is pretty powerful, and Niko has a damaged hitmonchan and shellder. Both of them alone won't be able to take down rhydon, not even with an advantage," Brittany responded, having paid close attention to the ground type's battling style during Fay's match.

Fay nodded in agreement. "Brittany's right, although I think Niko can pull it off. He usually does in these situations. He can be a surprisingly resilient trainer when he wants to be."

"Hitmonchan, let's give it all we've got! Use comet punch on rhydon!" Niko commanded.

"Rhydon, catch it off balance with earthquake."

The punching pokémon, with relatively weak lower-body strength, collapsed onto the shaking ground as its opponent proceeded to pummel it with a rock slide. The fighting type managed to use comet punch to break several of the rocks, but took significant damage from the rest. After the earthquake subsided, hitmonchan got right back up and rushed in to use comet punch once more.

"Niko, you aren't listening. Rhydon can't be beaten with close-range attacks!" Giovanni yelled out. "Use rock slide once more!"

"Break the rocks, hitmonchan!" Niko commanded. The punching pokémon successfully repelled the rock type move this time, finally able to rush in and use comet punch. However, rhydon was far more powerful than the already damaged hitmonchan, and used fury attack to ultimately defeat the fighting type.

"Hitmonchan is unable to battle, rhydon wins! Niko will now send out his next pokémon!"

"Shellder, let's go buddy!" Niko yelled out, summoning the bivalve pokémon. "You think you got some fight left in you?"

"Der! Shellder!" The water type eagerly responded. Niko smiled, pleased with the fighting spirit of his pokémon.

"Great, then let's use aurora beam!"

"Rhydon, use earthquake!" Giovanni commanded. Shellder was then sent flying into the air by the aggressively shaking ground underneath it. It released the rainbow-color energy beam, but ultimately missed. Giovanni then followed up with a fury attack, but Niko had other plans.

"Use clamp on its horn!" The challenger yelled out.

Shellder was successful in latching onto the drill pokémon. It then used bubblebeam, dealing significant damage to rhydon. The drill pokémon attempted to reach up and grab shellder, but the bivalve pokémon refused to release itself, instead continuing to use bubblebeam.

"You leave us with no choice, then. Rhydon, use horn drill!"

Rhydon's horn began to glow white. It then released the attack, successfully hitting shellder and launching it into the ceiling like a rocket. The water type then fell to the ground, succumbing to the damage from the KO move.

"Shellder is unable to battle, rhydon wins! Niko will now send out his final pokémon!"

"Ivysaur, I choose you!"

"Rhydon, let's waste no time. Use rock slide!"

"Retaliate with razor leaf, ivysaur!" Niko commanded. His starter pokémon then unleashed a torrent of powerfully sharp green leaves that, while not breaking the rocks, managed to collide with them and slow them down enough for them to crash in front of the seed pokémon. Ivysaur then retaliated with a stun spore that successfully hit rhydon, paralyzing its movements momentarily. "Now's our chance, use razor leaf again!"

"Endure it, rhydon. We can handle this," Giovanni assured his strongest pokémon. "Use earthquake!"

The earth began to shake vigorously, knocking ivysaur off its balance and onto the ground. It was luckily able to get up using its vines to push it on its left side, propelling it up and to the right and back on its feet. The seed pokémon then proceeded to use razor leaf at the rhydon, pushing the drill pokémon backwards a few feet.

"Ivysaur, rush in and use stun spore!"

"Not so fast, Niko. Rhydon, rock slide!"

"Ivysaur, use vine whip and grab the rocks! Throw them to the side," Niko commanded. The seed pokémon did as it was told, throwing rocks to the wayside as it gained ground on its opponent.

The grass type eventually reached its opponent and quickly unleashed a stun spore, quickly paralyzing the rock type and slowing its movements. Niko then issued his final command.

"IVYSAUR, RAZOR LEAF AT FULL POWER!" Niko screamed out as him and ivysaur became one entity in their last gym match. For a moment, he could feel the force of the leaves releasing from ivysaur's body as they crashed into the paralyzed rhydon. The leaves continued even once rhydon regained its ability to move. The drill pokémon unleashed an earthquake, which ivysaur and Niko seemed to ignore. Eventually, the rock type bent down to use horn drill in a final attempt to defeat its opponent, but ivysaur halted the razor leaf and slapped rhydon with vine whip, causing it to crash into the ground.

"Rhydon is unable to battle, ivysaur wins! And the victory goes to Niko from Pallet Town!"

"Ivysaur, we did it!" Niko ran over and tackled his starter pokémon to the ground. The grass type looked exhausted, but smiled warmly at the idea of making his trainer so happy. "We did it, buddy. I'm so proud of you."

Niko got up off the ground and dusted off his jeans as he watched Fay, JJ, and Brittany walk over to him. Brittany embraced him in a hug and JJ and Fay patted him on the back. Niko did the same for his fellow gym challenger.

Moments later, the half human, half robot Giovanni lumbered over to Fay and Niko, holding two badges in his two palms.

"I may no longer be Team Rocket's boss, but I still enjoy battling. I may be quarantined to this gym under arrest for the rest of my life, but I love being a gym leader. Thank you both for the battles. I and my pokémon thoroughly enjoyed them. Here, the earth badge. You two have earned them," The gym leader explained in his normal raspy voice.

Niko and Fay took the badges, looked at each other, and back at Giovanni. They thanked him, and began to head back to the pokémon center.

"Hey, kids," Giovanni yelled out. His two former challengers turned back to him. "How many badges do you have now?"

"We both have eight," Fay responded.

"Ah, I see. Well, I wish you the best of luck in the Indigo League. If your battles today are an indication of anything, then you will both go far. I can tell."

"Thank you, Giovanni. That means a lot," Niko replied before walking off with his friends.

Back at the pokémon center, the group healed up their teams before going out to a restaurant to celebrate Fay and Niko's respective victories. That day would be for resting and celebration. The next day, the two would began the arduous task of preparing for the pokémon league, which would test both of the trainer's mettle in ways they haven't yet imagined.


	46. Episode 46: Eve of Indigo

**Episode 46: Eve of Indigo**

"So, JJ, how long does it take to get to Indigo Plateau from here?" Niko asked in the midst of their breakfast. His curly-haired friend pulled out his trusty map of Kanto to find the answer.

"Looks like a day or two. It isn't too far, just west of Viridian," JJ answered quickly before putting his map back in his bag and continuing to eat.

The previous day, Niko and Fay had defeated Giovanni and received their eight—and final—gym badge in Kanto. This qualified them both for the Indigo League, which was set to begin in a week's time.

The group finished their food and left the pokémon center immediately to get a headstart on their journey west, having bought food at the farmer's market to get them through the days ahead. During the day, they took a few stops so eat and train a little.

Their first was in the middle of a small canyon just west of Viridian City. Here Niko began to train with his shellder and magnemite, Fay with his charizard, dragonair and gyarados.

"Shellder, use aurora beam! Magnemite, counter with thundershock!" Niko said as he directed a battle between his two pokémon. The bivalve pokémon unleashed a powerful rainbow-colored energy beam that was evaded by the magnet pokémon, who retaliated with a relatively weak thundershock attack. "Shellder we need to work on your focus. Your attacks keep missing for some reason. And magnemite, you need to gather up more of your energy, buddy. We can't go far in the Indigo League if your thundershock is not strong enough. Try again, please!"

"Charizard, dragonair, gyarados, keep up the dragon rage! You're all doing great!" Fay said encouragingly. "Just like Lance taught us, Find the rage within you and unleash it that way. Yeah, you got it, dragonair!"

Brittany and JJ watched several yards away as the two trainers practiced with their respective teams, and noticed a distinct difference in training styles. For whatever reason, Niko seemed to be more demanding all of the sudden. Normally, he doesn't act like this around his pokémon, Brittany noted to JJ.

"Might be the stress that's got him, not sure. I don't think he has been in this kind of high-pressure environment before, and it's getting to him."

"That would make a lot of sense, actually," Brittany replied, petting her wartortle's shell as the turtle pokémon was sleeping on a blanket. "I just hope it doesn't affect his overall performance."

JJ nodded in agreement. "Yeah, knowing Niko I hope it doesn't."

Shellder and magnemite fell down onto the ground exhausted. Not wanting to push them any further, Niko picked them up and carried them over to their campsite. However, he looked more stressed than tired or pleased.

"You okay buddy?" JJ asked as his friend sat next to him.

"Yeah, I'm alright. Just worried that shellder and magnemite aren't giving it their all," Niko said before realizing his two pokémon were sitting right in front of him. "I—I mean…sorry…" He dropped his head in shame, realizing that he had insulted his pokémon.

Shellder and magnemite, looking dejected, turned away and watched Fay's pokémon train. They seemed more content with their trainer, and less stressed out. It must have felt nice, they both thought.

"Guys, return. You did a good job…" Niko eventually said, returning his two pokémon. For the next half hour, he just sat there, thinking about what he said. Eventually Fay returned from training and the group ate lunch before packing up and continuing on their journey.

Later that day, around sunset, they began training once more, this time on the edge of the canyon they spent the day travelling through. Fay continued his dragon rage training, and Niko worked with kadabra and pidgeotto, using psybeam and quick wing attack respectively.

It was during this training that JJ began to help Niko out a little. "Pidgeotto, use quick wing attack once again!" Niko commanded. The bird pokémon shot right at its target—kadabra—with its full body glowing.

"Niko! Niko wait!" JJ said, running up to his friend, pamphlet in hand, "Check out this move I saw. It's actually pretty similar to your quick wing attack combo. It's a powerful flying type move that pidgeotto can learn, called sky attack."

"Sky attack?" Niko inquired curiously.

"Yeah, the user flies high into the air and shoots back down with the full power of its body. It's basically what you've been doing all along, but just a different way of commanding it."

"Alright, I'll try it out. Thanks, JJ!" Niko said before returning to his bird pokémon. "Alright, did you hear that, pidgeotto? We're going to try out a new move! Use sky attack!"

With that, pidgeotto shot into the air as if it was using quick attack on the sky. Once it was a couple hundred feet in the air, it arched back downwards and, full body glowing a bright white, launched back towards the ground, as if it was using quick wing attack.

"Kadabra, stop it with confusion!" Niko yelled out, afraid of seriously harming his pidgeotto. The psi pokémon luckily grabbed onto the flying type with its mind, halting it in midair. "Pidgeotto, that was great! I can't wait to see what it looks like in an actual battle!" Niko said, praising his pokémon.

For the next hour or so, the two trainers kept at it, eventually retiring to their campsite to sit with Brittany and JJ.

"Wow Fay, it seems like you've really got dragon rage down now," JJ commented.

"Yeah, it's definitely getting easier. Dragonair still has some difficulty, but that's okay. We'll get through it. How's the training going for you, Niko?"

"Fine. Pidgeotto is learning sky attack right now, and kadabra just needs to get better at focusing its psybeam, but we're almost there."

"And what about shellder and magnemite? Weren't you training them earlier?" Fay asked further.

"Yeah, well…" Niko hesitated, looking down at his food, "I…kinda insulted them earlier, and I think they're mad at me…"

"Oh, I see. Well, I hope you can resolve that…" Fay said, continuing to eat.

The rest of the group went to bed, leaving only Niko awake. After the day of travelling and training, he was certainly tired, but the stress was getting to him. He decided to send out ivysaur.

"Hey buddy, sorry for waking you up," Ivysaur looked at its trainer sleepily before blinking a few times and smiling happily. "Tomorrow we'll reach Indigo Plateau, and the pokémon league will begin in a few days. I'm not sure if I'm ready…"

"Ivy…?"

"Yeah. It's weird, I thought that, after beating all of these gyms, I would be strong enough to take on the pokémon league, but I'm starting to second guess that now. And it stresses me out. I lashed out at shellder and magnemite earlier, did you know that?" The seed pokémon looked a little shocked at this admittance, but continued to listen. "I feel terrible, and I wish I could take it back. If I ever do that to you, please slap me with vine whip, okay?" Ivysaur nodded, albeit a little concerned. Niko continued his stream of consciousness.

"I just don't know if I have what it takes to be a great pokémon trainer. I don't just want to be good, I want to be great. Maybe, maybe even the best. And, now that I think about it some more, that doesn't seem possible. Heck, I can't even beat Elliot, and I _know_ he isn't the strongest out there. So…who am I kidding?"

Ivysaur patted Niko on the shoulder with its vine to reassure its trainer, giving it a determined look.

"Ivy! Ivysaur saur!"

Niko then snapped out of his funk, and looked back at his starter pokémon. "Of course, I know you're not going to give up! You never have, not even when you were blinded. You stood up to Sabrina's alakazam and fought it like your life depended on it, blind and not. And I'm very proud to be your trainer. Thanks, ivysaur, for making me realize that."

The two, trainer and pokémon, then hugged before heading to bed. Unbeknownst to the both of them, Brittany was awake, and quietly listening to the entire conversation. Assured in the fact that her friend was feeling better, she went back to sleep.

The following day, before heading off to Indigo Plateau, Niko and Fay did one final round of training. This time, Niko used ivysaur and hitmonchan, and Fay used hitmonlee, electabuzz, and primeape, having all three work on close combat moves such as mega kick, thunderpunch, and "double karate chop." Niko focused on increasing the speed and volume of ivysaur's razor leaf, and perfecting hitmonchan's thunderpunch move.

"Hitmonchan, try to remember the feeling of holding Nidoking's thunder in your gloves. Imagine the electricity flowing through them. Maybe that will help?" Niko said as he began to notice the punching pokémon was having some difficulty. Hitmonchan closed its eyes for a moment before creating small electric sparks in its gloves. "Excellent! Now use thunderpunch!" Niko cried out. Hitmonchan's fist lit up with electricity, but before he was able to use it, the sparks disappeared. "Alright…well, try again!" Niko then turned to ivysaur. "How're you doing, buddy?"

Ivysaur looked up at its trainer after practicing its razor leaf one more time. It smiled eagerly, noticing that it was making some progress. It used razor leaf one more time, demonstrating to its trainer that it was improving. There were significantly more leaves shooting out from its bulb this time, although they were moving slightly slower.

"Alright, it looks good so far, but we need to increase the speed of them. Can you try that?" The seed pokémon nodded happily before continuing to practice.

Meanwhile, Fay's pokémon seemed to be getting their moves down. Electabuzz was practicing close combat with primeape while hitmonlee kept kicking a tree, using it as a punching bag for its mega kick. After a while, it seemed to get the move down. Fay looked pleased with the results.

"Alright guys, time for a break! We're heading off to Indigo Plateau in a bit!" He said, returning his three pokémon. Niko did the same with his two.

After another hour of walking, they finally saw the Pokemon League building in their sight, just beyond the hill that they were standing atop.

"We made it!" Brittany cheered out. As she looked to her friends, she noticed Fay smiling in success, but Niko was slightly more solemn. She could then tell that his talk with ivysaur didn't completely eradicate his stress.


	47. Episode 47: The torch is lit!

**Episode 47: The torch is lit! Indigo League!**

The group finally reached Indigo Plateau, the site of Kanto's Indigo League. Here, Niko and Fay would compete amongst trainers from all over the region, all of whom have earned eight gym badges from around Kanto. The winner would then get the opportunity to challenge the Elite 4 and the Champion of the Elite 4.

The stadium itself was divided into four sections—three small stadiums all connected to a much larger one. That is the field where the opening and closing ceremonies occur, as well as every match from the semifinals on down.

Walking into the main stadium, where the registration desk, dining hall, pokémon center, and some of the more luxurious hotel suits were, the group was immediately overwhelmed at the amount of trainers in their presence.

"Wow…it's a little intimidating," Brittany said upon seeing so many people. She again looked over at Niko and Fay, to see how they were reacting. Niko seemed oddly aloof, and Fay didn't look surprised in the least.

The four then walked over to the registration desk to enter into the tournament. Nurse Joy, who was running the registration of trainers, smiled as they approached.

"Welcome to Indigo Plateau! Are you all here to register?"

"No, just us two, please," Fay said as him and Niko stepped forward.

"Great! Well, I just need to see your badges and your pokédexes."

"Why our pokédexes?" Niko asked.

"They keep a record of all of the pokémon you've caught," Joy said, smiling happily.

"Oh, I thought it was just to collect data on pokémon you've seen, not those you've caught."

"Oh, no worries. We only ask because trainers often use more than six pokémon. They tend to rotate them out for battles if they have more than six," Nurse Joy said as Fay and Niko gave her their badge cases. "Alright, let's see…boulder, cascade, thunder, rainbow, marsh, soul, volcano, and earth badges! Yep, you've got them all! Congratulations!"

"Thank you, and here are our pokédexes," Fay said as the two trainers handed them to Nurse Joy in exchange for their badge cases. "Also, where will we be staying?"

"Oh, yes, we have hotel suites in this building for all registered trainers. Here are your passes. Will your two friends be with you?" Fay nodded. "Got it, here's a four-bed suite. Best of luck!"

"Thank you again," Fay said, grabbing the pokédexes and handing Niko's his. The group then walked up to their suite.

The suite was enormous. There were two rooms, each with two beds, both connecting to a common area with a table, some chairs, a couch, and a TV set. There was also a window overlooking the grounds outside the main stadium, with a view of two of the smaller stadiums on their left and right.

The group set their bags down and looked around for a minute before JJ crashed on the couch, a cold water bottle in hand.

"So guys, whadda ya wanna do now? The opening ceremony isn't until tomorrow anyways."

"Maybe grab some food? I'm pretty hungry," Fay suggested. JJ, who was also evidently starving, immediately jumped at the idea of a finely cooked meal. He nodded eagerly as his friend chuckled and left the room to go find the dining hall.

They were in the middle of lunch when a familiar face appeared at a nearby table. Fay immediately recognized the raven-haired trainer.

"Elliot!" He said, waving his hand. The trainer looked up, smiled, and moved over to the group's table. "How're you doing?"

"Hey Fay, everyone. I'm doing well. How about you all?"

"Doing alright uh Elliot. How's life treating ya?"

"Hi JJ, pleasure meeting you again," Elliot responded flatly. "Anyways, Fay, Niko, you guys got all of your badges I presume?" The two trainers nodded. "Awesome, hope you guys do well. I'm sure we'll have to compete against one another eventually."

"Well yeah, if any of us plan on winning the whole thing," Niko responded after swallowing his lunch.

"That is true, you're totally right. Well, I've gotta get going actually. Need to get back to training. See ya guys at the opening ceremony tomorrow!"

The four waved to Elliot as he walked away. As he did, Niko began eating his food slightly more aggressively, at least according to Brittany, who just so happened to notice.

 _The stress is definitely getting to him_ , she thought. _I hope it doesn't get the best of him_. She continued to eat her lunch, the whole time having Niko's stress on her mind, constantly coming up with solutions to this vexing problem.

After eating, the group decided to tour the stadium. As they did, they noticed several pairs of trainers practicing their moves in mock battles against other random trainers. The group was identifying pokémon that they had never seen before, such as kanghaskan and farfetch'd.

As they were walking by, they noticed another familiar face. "Hey, Ted!" Niko yelled out to their scientist friend, who responded and ran up to the group with open arms, hugging Niko and Brittany and shaking Fay and JJ's hands.

"Hey guys, you ready for the league?" Ted said excitedly.

"Yeah, of course. But what are you doing here?" Niko asked curiously.

"Oh, I'm here to watch you two!" Ted exclaimed. "Yeah, you guys are really good friends of mine, and have helped me out on a few occasions. The least I could do is cheer you on in your time of need!"

"Well, thanks Ted, we really appreciate it!" Fay said before saying farewell to their friend and continuing their self-guided tour of the stadium.

After an hour or so of walking, they had travelled the circumference of the main stadium and walked outside to sit down near the fountains, watching the sunset and the rush of trainers to get into the stadium to register. It was clear that some didn't make it, as a few came back out looking dour. As they were watching these trainers, Niko noticed a trio of very familiar faces approaching him.

"Mom! Dad! Jake!" He said, getting up to hug his parents and endure a tackle from his younger brother. "You made it!"

"Of course we did, honey," Mom said cheerfully. "We wouldn't miss it for the world. Hey Fay, JJ, Brittany," The three other trainers smiled and waved back.

"So when does the opening ceremony start?" Dad asked.

"Tomorrow, I think around midday?" Niko said, scratching his chin, hoping to find a more accurate answer. Fay nodded in agreement after looking at the special pamphlet he picked up at the registration desk.

"Well, we'll be cheering for the both of you in the stands, that's for sure!" Dad responded, patting his son on the back.

"Yeah, you better win it all, Niko!" Jake said, punching his older brother's arm, eliciting a rather loud "ow" from Niko.

"I'm going to do my best, Jake, that's for sure," Niko responded, still nursing his arm.

Later that night, Niko couldn't sleep. He walked outside to their balcony and looked at the stars for a moment. As he did so, magnemite and shellder popped out of their pokéballs to join him.

"Hey you two, can't sleep either?" The two nodded slightly before sitting—and hovering—at their trainer's side. "Listen, I'm really sorry about how I acted yesterday. It wasn't okay of me at all. You're both very capable pokémon, and you're getting stronger with every battle. I can tell. I guess…I guess I was just stressed out, y'know? This is a lot to handle, and I feel a lot of pressure on me to do well. But sometimes I don't think I can do well."

Looking down at the grounds below, Niko frowned a little. It was only when magnemite nuzzled its little magnet-arm that the trainer started to feel a little better.

"Thanks, buddy, I really appreciate that," Niko said, rubbing his magnet pokémon. Shellder clamped onto Niko's arm, almost causing the boy to scream, but he kept it to himself out of fear of waking up his friends. "And…thanks to you, shellder…really appreciate that one," Shellder let go, content in its ability to cheer its trainer up.

"Welcome, one and all to the annual Indigo League Pokémon Tournament! I am your host, Mr. Colton Goodshow, the President of the Pokémon League. There are 128 registered trainers in this tournament. Over the next few days, the pool will whittle down until there are only two trainers left who will compete in the final round of the tournament. There will be seven rounds total. The first round will be 1-on-1 pokémon battles, the next two will be 3-on-3 battles, and the final four will be full 6-on-6 battles. The winner of the tournament will not only gain entry into the Hall of Fame, but they will also be offered to challenge the Kanto Elite 4 and, if they advance far enough, the champion of Kanto. Now, to light the torch beginning the tournament!"

A raven-haired trainer (not Elliot) began running up the stairs with a torch in his hand, and a small pokémon at his side. Niko couldn't make out any further details, but he got the sense that this person was important. The trainer put the smaller torch to a much larger one in a golden bowl. The torch then flared up into the sky, signaling the beginning of the pokémon league.

"Now, if I'll have your attention, please turn to our mega screen above the torch. This shows the faces of each trainer who registered. Before each round, all of the remaining trainers will be randomly paired up with one another, and will subsequently battle. For the first four rounds, each battle will be in one of the three smaller stadiums or this larger stadium. Once we get down to the final 8 trainers, each match will be conducted exclusively in this stadium. Now, let's see who will be facing whom first."

The screen then began randomly pairing up each trainer, with four sections to indicate which stadium they would be in.

For the first round, Fay and Niko were both in one of the smaller stadiums, each battling a different trainer. Elliot was in the large stadium, also with a random trainer as well.

"The first round will commence in three hours. Best of luck, trainers!" Colton Goodshow said before turning off the mic.

"Well Fay, let's get ready!" Niko said. Fay nodded, and the two walked off to their stadium, with Brittany and JJ trailing them. The Indigo League had finally commenced.


	48. Episode 48: Opening round! Sky attack!

**Episode 48: Opening round! Sky attack!**

For the first round of the Indigo League, Niko, Fay, and Elliot all had matches against random trainers. Niko's match was actually the first one in one of the smaller stadiums. Fay's would be a few matches later. Elliot was in the large stadium, and would be the last match of the round that day.

Entering his battlefield, Niko suddenly got stage fright. He had never been in front of a crowd this large, or even a quarter as large. The stadium was packed, but he could still hear his three friends and his family yelling his name in the front row seats behind him.

"And now let's begin with the first match of the Indigo League! Here we have Niko from Pallet Town!" The crowd cheered; Niko could hear specifically his group of friends. "And his opponent: Trey from Pewter City!" The crowd cheered once again. "This will be an exciting battle for sure, folks!"

The judge turned to both trainers. "This will be a 1-on-1 pokémon battle. Each trainer will send out their pokémon simultaneously, and the match will begin immediately. Once a trainer's pokémon is unable to battle, the match will be over. Do you both understand?" Niko and Trey both nodded. "Great, then you may begin!"

"Pidgeotto, come on out!" Niko yelled.

"Haunter, let's go!" Trey commanded, equally as loud. "Use psychic!"

Before Niko could issue a command, he saw his pidgeotto being controlled by the glowing eyes of the gas pokémon, and subsequently tossed around like a rag doll. Trying to think on his feet, but too paralyzed by stage fright to do so, he watched pidgeotto take some damage before ordering an attack.

"Pidgeotto, use sky attack! Fly as high as you can!" Niko directed. Before haunter could use another move, pidgeotto had rocketed into the sky.

"Wow, look at the speed of that pidgeotto! Niko sure has been training it! I wonder if haunter will be able to evade this move." The announcer said in an attempt to drum up suspense.

Pidgeotto then shot back down, crashing into haunter and dealing a significant amount of damage to the ghost type. Pidgeotto then flew back towards its trainer, proud of its performance thus far. Niko smiled at it, but commanded it to dodge as haunter launched a hypnosis attack. Pidgeotto was luckily able to evade the move by not looking at its opponent and by also flying directly upwards, avoiding the red circles that were fast approaching it.

"Use sky attack once more!" Niko commanded as he watched his bird pokémon shoot back into the air.

As it dove back down again, however, Trey and haunter had another trick up their sleeve. "Haunter, use thunderbolt!"

"Pidgeotto!" Niko screamed out, "Evade the attack quickly!" Pidgeotto had difficulty hearing its trainer, but nonetheless noticed the thunderbolt and tried to evade, but was too late and instead hit the attack head on. It was moving at a speed fast enough to rip through the electricity and proceed with its move.

"Wow, what is this!? Pidgeotto is flying _through_ a thunderbolt! This is incredible folks!" The announcer screamed, as if losing his mind.

"Pidgeotto you got this! Use sky attack!" Niko cried out. And as he did, he distinctly noticed pidgeotto glowing a bright white color as it began to also increase in size. "No way…don't tell me you're…"

The large bird crashed into haunter, ultimately defeating it as it swooped away, now a completely different pokémon.

"Haunter is unable to battle, pidgeot wins! And the victory goes to Niko from Pallet Town!"

"Pidgeot, huh…" Niko said as his bird flew over to him. "Well, thanks buddy, you did a great job!"

* * *

" _Pidgeot, the bird pokémon. This pokémon flies at Mach 2 speed, seeking prey. Its large talons are feared as wicked weapons_." JJ's pokédex explained as the group was congratulating Niko on the win.

"Niko, that was amazing!" Brittany said. "You and pidgeot really fired up the crowd!"

"Heh, thanks. It's all due to this guy, though," Niko explained, petting pidgeot's long crest. "Fay, you're up next, right?" His friend nodded.

"In a couple rounds, but I should probably stick around here, just in case the others end early."

Niko patted him on the back, wished him good luck, and walked with JJ and Brittany to the stands to sit with his family.

Eventually Fay's match was about to begin. He stood at the same end of the field as Niko had earlier, and was opposed by a trainer named Connor. The judge repeated the same rules as before. When he finished speaking, Fay and Connor both released their pokémon.

"Hitmonlee, let's go!"

"Golem, you're up!" Connor commanded. "Use rock slide!"

"Hitmonlee, whack each rock away with double kick! And follow up with a rolling kick," Fay commanded as his fighting type rushed at the torrent of rocks aimed right for it, knocking away each one. It eventually slammed its foot into golem, pushing it back a few feet.

"Golem, earthquake!" Connor yelled out as his rock type shook the ground aggressively.

"Hitmonlee, leap into the air and use double kick!"

The kicking pokémon jumped into the air, high above golem and avoiding the earthquake before dropping its left foot on its opponent's head, slamming the rock type into the ground. As it landed, Connor ordered another earthquake, this time violently moving hitmonlee across the ground. Once the attack subsided, the kicking pokémon was able to regain its balance and launch into a rolling kick to golem's side, and followed up with a double kick to send the pokémon to its knees.

"Hitmonlee, let's finish this! Use mega kick!" Fay commanded.

"Wow, look at Fay's hitmonlee! It's going in with a normal type move against a rock pokémon! He must feel pretty confident here, wonder if he can pull it off!" The announcer yelled out in surprise. "Folks, this is certainly a trainer to watch in this tournament, the way he seems to be in sync with his pokémon is marvelous."

"Golem, respond with fire blast!" Connor commanded as his pokémon unleashed a powerful burst of fire at hitmonlee, who flew back several feet from the impact of the blast. "Now follow up with earthquake!"

"Hitmonlee, jump into the air and use double kick!" Fay commanded. The fighting pokémon was once again able to dodge the shaking ground and proceeded to slam its foot into golem's face, knocking the megaton pokémon onto its back, defeated.

"Golem is unable to battle, hitmonlee wins! And the victory goes to Fay from Pallet Town!"

"Woohoo! Great job, hitmonlee!" Fay said, high-fiving his pokémon when it walked back over to him.

He met the same rounds of congratulations that Niko had earlier, with his friends and Niko's family praising him for his first round victory.

"Did you hear what they were saying? That you are someone to watch in this tournament? That's awesome!" JJ said cheerfully.

"I actually didn't, if that makes any sense. Too focused on the battle," Fay responded as he returned hitmonlee. "Hey, let's go see if Elliot's match has started!"

The group nodded as they walked over to the main stadium to watch their rival's first match. As it turns out, they caught it just in time—he had just sent out his poliwrath to challenge his opponent's magmar.

"This should be an easy match for him…" Niko muttered. Only Brittany seemed to hear it.

"Poliwrath, let's start off with a mega punch!" Elliot commanded. The magmar quickly evaded the move and retaliated with a firepunch to poliwrath's gut, the force of the move clearly doing more damage than the actual fire. "Use mega punch one more time!"

"Magmar, dodge and use smokescreen!" The trainer, named Clint, commanded. The spitfire pokémon blew a large puff of smoke at the tadpole pokémon, blinding it momentarily. "Now, use hyperbeam!"

"Poliwrath, use hydro pump!" Elliot retaliated. The two attacks caused the smoke to dissipate, leaving a fire and water type standing opposite one another, refusing to give in. "Use hydro pump one more time!"

"Magmar, flamethrower!" Clint yelled out desperately. However, the spitfire pokémon had to rest for a moment after using hyper beam, and wasn't able to execute its move fast enough. It was then engulfed in a torrent of water, extinguishing the fire type.

"Magmar is unable to battle, poliwrath wins! And the victory goes to Elliot from Viridian City!" The judge declared.

"Excellent, folks! And with that, we conclude the first round of the Indigo League tournament! Come back tomorrow morning as we join the remaining 64 trainers for the second round: a series of 3-on-3 matches!" Colton Goodshow announced through the loudspeaker.

As he walked back into the stadium, he noticed the group waiting for him. "Oh, hey guys. Did you watch the match?"

"Yeah we did! That was a great fight, Elliot!" JJ said. The raven-haired trainer nodded cordially before turning to Fay.

"You did a good job man, keep it up!" He said, patting Elliot on the shoulder. The younger trainer smiled.

"Thanks, how did you both do?"

"We both made it through the first round," Niko stated.

"Oh, excellent. Congrats to both of you, and same goes for tomorrow. Anyways, I'm heading back to my room. Catch ya guys later!"

Elliot then walked off, leaving the group to their own devices. They decided to grab something to eat at the dining hall before heading back to their suite to recollect themselves. It had been a long—but exciting—first day. The next few days would prove to be far similar.


	49. Episode 49: Electabuzz's pride!

**Episode 49: Second round! Electabuzz's pride!**

"Alllllright trainers!" Colton Goodshow announced on the loudspeaker. "Welcome to round 2 of the Indigo League! All 64 of you have already advanced, and after this round, half of you will remain. This round—and the next—will be 3-on-3 battles. And now, if you will turn your attention to the screen: the next pairings of trainers!"

The faces of each of the remaining trainers randomly moved around on the screen, resulting in 32 different pairings for each of the four stadiums. Niko, Fay, and Elliot were paired up with random trainers, all three in each of the three smaller stadiums. Fay went first in the first match, Niko in the third round, and Elliot in the fifth in their respective stadiums.

"The first matches in each stadium will begin in 10 minutes, so if you are the first match, please head to your respective stadium!" Colton Goodshow announced.

"Alright Fay, you're up!" Niko said. His friend nodded eagerly, already off walking to his stadium with Niko. Elliot, who had joined them to see the opening of the second round, also went to watch the match.

"Welcome to the first match of the second round in the Indigo League! The battle is between Fay of Pallet Town and Erin of Fuchsia City. Whenever the judge deems ready, both trainers may begin."

The judge explained the rules of the battle again. Fay and Erin both nodded, signaling that the match was ready to begin.

"Dragonair, let's go!"

"Sandslash, I choose you!" Erin yelled out as her Sandslash took to the field. "Let's start off with a sand attack!"

"Dragonair, dragon rage!"

The purple fire from dragon rage met the wall of sand and dissipated a little before hitting the ground type. Sandslash retaliated with a dig. Fay stood there, watching and waiting for the mouse pokémon to reemerge.

"Dragonair, leap into the air!" Fay commanded. The dragon type jumping into the air just as sandslash jumped out of the ground. "Now, slam it with your tail!" Dragonair whipped sandslash, sending it back into the ground. "Now, use dragon rage!" The dragon type unleashed a torrent of purple fire at its opponent, ultimately subduing it.

"Sandslash is unable to battle, dragonair wins! Erin will send out her second pokémon!"

"Golduck, let's go!"

"Dragonair, use wrap!" Fay commanded.

"Golduck, use ice beam before it gets to you!" Erin yelled out. Before the dragon pokémon could reach its opponent, it took the ice attack to its face before crashing into the ground.

"Dragonair, you've got more in you! Use dragon rage!"

"Golduck, hydro pump!" Erin ordered. The two attacks landed midway between the two pokémon. Dragonair just happened to be faster at following up, wrapping its long body around golduck and attempting to squeeze the life out of it. However, the duck pokémon still had the advantage, launching a final ice beam at dragonair's body, ultimately subduing it.

"Dragonair is unable to battle, golduck wins! Fay will send out his second pokémon!"

"Primeape, let's go!" Fay commanded. "Start off with double karate chop!"

"Double karate chop…?" Elliot asked, out of curiosity. "Does he mean cross chop?"

"Err, maybe?" JJ asked. "I don't know what that move is, and maybe Fay doesn't either?"

"Well, that's what 'double karate chop' looks like. Primeape can learn cross chop. It's a pretty powerful fighting type move," Elliot replied. The rest of the group nodded, mesmerized by Fay's battle.

"Golduck, dodge and use hydro pump!" Erin commanded. The water type evaded the incoming pig monkey, who crashed into the ground and was doused by a torrent of water. "Use disable!"

The duck pokémon moved its webbed fingers a bit before stopping primeape from using karate chop. The pig monkey turned around to face its opponent before rushing at it once more, this time using mega punch. It socked its opponent in the face before getting hit with a powerful ice beam in the face.

"Primeape! Keep it up buddy, we can do it! Use mega punch again!"

"Golduck, hydro pump!"

"Punch through the water, primeape!" Fay commanded. His pig monkey, in rage by the fight, rushed at its opponent and slammed its glowing white fist at the water type, launching it into the wall behind Fay.

"Golduck is unable to battle, primeape is the winner! Erin will send out her final pokémon!" The judge declared.

"Arbok, you're up!" The female trainer yelled out, summoning a large cobra pokémon. "Let's start off with acid!"

"Primeape, dodge and use mega punch!" Fay commanded. However, the acid was quicker, hitting the pig monkey in the arm as it was about to run at arbok. The pig monkey, determined as always, continued rushing at the snake pokémon, eventually slamming its left fist into the poison type before falling to another acid attack.

"Primeape is unable to battle, arbok wins! Fay will send out his final pokémon!" The judge declared.

"Let's go electabuzz! Your time to shine!" Fay said, summoning his electric pokémon. "Use thunderpunch!"

"Wait for it, arbok…" Erin muttered, waiting for the electric type to quickly approach. "And now! Use wrap!"

The snake pokémon ducked its head, dodging the thunderpunch and wrapping its long tail around its opponent. It then began to squeeze harder, crushing the electric pokémon's lungs and making it blue in the face.

"Looks like the battle might be the end for electabuzz!" The announced said into the microphone. "Can Fay pull out a win here, or will his league journey come to an end?"

Fay stood there, trying to come up with a solution. "Electabuzz, you can't lose now! Not here! I know you're stronger than this! You can do it!"

The electric pokémon closed its eyes, its pride now on the line. Suddenly, it opened them back up, stared arbok in the eyes, and unleashed the most powerful thunderbolt it's ever emitted, electrifying the snake pokémon and releasing it from its grip.

"Electabuzz, finish it off with thunderpunch!" Fay screamed out.

"Eeeeeeeelectabuzz!" The electric pokémon rushed at its opponent and slammed an electrified fist into the snake's face, sending it backwards and on its back.

"Arbok is unable to battle! Electabuzz wins! The victory goes to Fay from Pallet Town!"

Electabuzz turned to its trainer, a grin from ear-to-ear, ran back to its trainer with pure joy on its face. It then high-fived Fay, who returned with a hug.

"You did it buddy. I'm really proud of you," Fay said before returning his pokémon. He walked through the stadium to greet his friends, who all congratulated him.

"Congrats, Fay, you battled really well!" Elliot began, "Also, primeape's 'double karate chop' is actually called cross chop. They're essentially the same move. Maybe try teaching it that?"

"Oh, didn't know that. Thanks, Elliot. I'll keep that in mind. Anyways, Niko you're up next, right?"

Niko nodded, and the group rushed over to the neighboring stadium for his battle, which was one match away from starting. Departing his friends, he thought about which three he wanted to use. By that time, his match was ready to begin.

"Aaaand let's get started with the third match of this round! Here we have Niko from Pallet Town and Sandy of Vermilion City!" The judge then began discussing the rules of the match before allowing the battle to start.

"Pidgeot, let's go!" Niko commanded, summoning his bird pokémon.

"Gloom, you're up!" Sandy cried out. JJ pulled out his pokédex to get data on gloom:

" _Gloom, the weed pokémon. The fluid that oozes from its mouth isn't drool. It is a nectar that is used to attract prey_."

"Lovely…" JJ muttered underneath his breath before continuing to watch the match.

"Use sleep powder!"

"Pidgeot, let's start off with sky attack! Dodge the powder!" Niko cried out. The flying type leapt into the air as the powder blew through the wind under it. It later slammed back down onto gloom before taking a stun spore to the face. The bird pokémon collapsed onto the ground, paralyzed.

"Gloom, use solarbeam!" Sandy commanded. A ball of solar energy appeared above it, eventually turning into a beam that struck the flying type.

"Pidgeot, get up! Use wing attack!" Niko cried out. The flying type lifted its body up and launched at gloom, attacking it low to the ground. The weed pokémon latched onto pidgeot's wing in an attempt to use stun spore. It succeeded, causing pidgeot to crash back into the ground. Now paralyzed, gloom launched petal dance, further damaging the bird pokémon with a tornado of pink and green petals. "Agh…" Niko said, unsure of what to do now. "Pidgeot, use sand attack!"

The flying type, recovering from the paralysis, got back onto its feet and kicked some of the dirt on the ground at its opponent and proceeded to fly up into the air.

"Finish it off with sky attack!" Niko commanded. Pidgeot shot into the air like a rocket before turning back downwards and crashing into gloom, ultimately defeating it.

"Gloom is unable to battle, pidgeot wins! Sandy will send out her second pokémon!"

"Alakazam, you're up!" Sandy commanded. "Let's start off with a psychic!"

"Pidgeot, fly into the air to dodge it!" Niko yelled out. The bird pokémon obeyed, attempting to escape the psychic grip of the psi pokémon. However, flying higher only made the fall much for painful, as alakazam used its powerful mind to bring pidgeot back down to earth, however not fully defeating it.

"Alakazam, use thunderpunch!"

"Pidgeot, retaliate with sand attack!"

The bird pokémon kicked sand in the air in an attempt at stopping alakazam. For a moment, it did—pidgeot was able to get back into the air and attempt to use sky attack. However, alakazam was faster. It used psychic once again, bringing the flying type crashing back into the earth.

"Pidgeot is unable to battle, alakazam wins! Niko will now send out his next pokémon!"

"Shellder, I choose you!" Niko said, summoning the bivalve pokémon. "Use aurora beam!"

"Alakazam, dodge with teleport! And follow up with thunderpunch!"

"Shellder, it's gonna come from behind, turn around and hit it with aurora beam…" Niko said softly. As it turns out, he was right—alakazam did reappear behind shellder, its fist glowing with electric sparks. The bivalve pokémon then unleashed a powerful aurora beam directly at alakazam's chest, causing it to take a few steps back. "Now use clamp!"

"Shellllll-der!" The water type yelled out, acting on its trainer's command. It leapt into action, grabbing onto alakazam's arm. The psi pokémon tried shaking it off with psychic, but it didn't seem to work. The bivalve pokémon wasn't letting go.

"Use thunderpunch!" Sandy cried out. Alakazam listened, its fist glowing once again.

"Let go, shellder!" Niko commanded. As alakazam was about to hit, shellder released its grip, falling off as alakazam thunderpunched itself in the arm. "Now, finish it off with aurora beam!" Shellder obeyed, defeating the psychic type with one final move.

"Alakazam is unable to battle, shellder wins! Sandy will send out her final pokémon!" The judge declared.

"Venomoth, come on out! Use poisonpowder!"

"Shellder, use withdraw!" Niko commanded. The water type clamped its shell shut as it waited out the poisonous powder floating around in the air. Once the powder dissipated, shellder unleashed an aurora beam directly at venomoth. The poison type took the hit, but responded with a confusion that picked the bivalve pokémon up into the air and closer to its opponent.

"Venomoth, use psybeam!"

"Shellder, bubblebeam!" Niko yelled out. However, it was too late. The attack landed before shellder could retaliate.

"Shellder is unable to battle, venomoth wins! Niko will send out his final pokémon!"

"Kadabra, I choose you!" Niko said, as confident as ever. He figured he could win this match now. "Use psybeam, too!"

Two psybeams hit midway between the pokémon, resulting in an explosion of psychic energy. Kadabra then teleported to venomoth's side to use another psybeam. However, the poison moth noticed it reappear and proceeded to combine confusion and poisonpowder, launching the focused stream of purple specks at the psi pokémon. Kadabra once again teleported, this time directly in front of venomoth.

"Kadabra, use psybeam!" Niko yelled out loud.

"Venomoth, psybeam as well!" Sandy yelled, equally as loud. The two attack collided, causing both to shoot backwards in opposite directions.

"Follow up with teleport and confusion!" Niko yelled out. Kadabra was far quicker than Sandy and venomoth's reactions, reappearing right behind the poison type and using confusion to halt its movements.

"Finish it off with psybeam!" Niko finally commanded, ending the match.

"Venomoth is unable to battle, kadabra wins! The victory goes to Niko from Pallet Town!"

"We did it, kadabra!" Niko yelled, running over to his psychic type. "You did such a great job, buddy! I'm really proud of you!"

Niko walked back into the stadium to meet with his friends, and was greeted with a round of congratulations.

"Niko, you did a great job! Kadabra was really strong in that last fight!" Brittany said cheerfully.

"Pidgeot really pulled it from behind there, son," Niko's Dad said, patting his son on the back.

"Yeah, good job man," Elliot also added. "Although, pidgeot didn't need to get so close to gloom like that. Made it difficult for it to win."

"What do you mean? Pidgeot's a physical fighter. That's what it has to do," Niko responded slightly aggressively.

"Well, yeah, but so is gloom. All of its attacks—bar solarbeam—could be short-range. So is pidgeot. That's what allowed it to gain the upper hand. It's like what ivysaur does, but better."

"I appreciated the commentary, Elliot. But if I ever face you, you'll see what a physical pokémon looks like…" Niko said, frustrated with having to argue with Elliot. "Don't you have a match to get to, anyways?"

Elliot, a little taken aback by Niko's sudden aggressiveness, nodded. "Yeah, I do. See ya guys later."

"Good luck, Elliot! We'll be watching!" JJ yelled to their friend as he walked away. He then turned back to Niko. "What was all that about?"

"He decides to criticize me after I _won_? Pidgeot did just fine, why does he have to act like he knows everything?" Niko fired back, still worked up by the incident.

"Son, don't worry about it. Let it roll off your back," Niko's Dad said encouragingly. "You won, that's what matters. You can worry about Elliot later."

"Yeah, guess you're right. Let's go watch his match now," Niko said, walking off in the same direction Elliot had gone in.

"Welcome to the fifth match in this round of the Indigo League! Here we have Elliot of Viridian City versus Tom of Cinnabar Island!" The judge once again explained the rules to the two trainers and, after they both nodded, the match began.

"Scyther, you're up!"

"Mankey, I choose you!" Tom, a much younger kid, yelled out. "Use double kick!"

"Scyther, wait for it to come to you…" Elliot said softly. As the pig monkey approached scyther, Elliot ordered another command. "Slash, now!" The mantis pokémon lashed out at its opponent, knocking mankey several yards back. "Now, use agility! And slash once again!"

The bug type began to speed up now, repeatedly running at the fighting type to slash it. Eventually, it got to the point where mankey was unable to even land an attack. Elliot ultimately finished it off with a wing attack.

"Mankey is unable to battle, scyther wins! Tom will send out his second pokémon," The judge declared.

"Wigglytuff, let's go!" Tom yelled out. Niko pulled out his pokédex:

" _Wigglytuff, the balloon pokémon. The body is soft and rubbery. When angered, it will suck in air and inflate itself to an enormous size_."

"Scyther, let's go again. Agility and wing attack this time!" Elliot commanded plainly. The bug type began speeding up again but, as it was about to strike wigglytuff, Tom was finally able to land a hit.

"Use doubleslap!" The kid yelled out. Wigglytuff then slammed its tiny fist into scyther's face, causing the mantis to crash into the ground. "Now, use metronome!"

Wigglytuff began to wag its fingers back and forth a few times before unleashing a random move. It so happened to be wing attack. The balloon pokémon grew temporarily wings and struck scyther as it was trying to get back up. Wigglytuff then dragged scyther across the battlefield and slammed it into the wall behind Elliot.

"Use slash, scyther!" The bug type brought its long scythe-hand up into the air and slammed it into wigglytuff's side, ending the metronome and launching it into the side wall of the arena. "Let's end this! Use wing attack!"

Scyther's wings began to glow white as it rushed as wigglytuff. Tom commanded it to use doubleslap again. However, Elliot wasn't the kind of person to fall for the same stunt twice in a row, and commanded his pokémon to dodge the move before hitting. Scyther was ultimately successful, ending the match with wigglytuff.

"Wigglytuff is unable to battle, scyther wins! Tom will now send out his final pokémon!" The judge declared.

"Onix, let's go!" The kid screamed. "Use rock throw!"

"Return, scyther," Elliot said. "Go, poliwrath!"

" _What!?_ " Tom yelled out. "That's not fair!"

"It totally is, Tom. We're allowed to substitute in these battles," Elliot stated. The judge turned to Tom and nodded in concurrence.

"Alright, fine then! I'll still beat you! Use rock throw!"

"Get rid of it with mega punch, poliwrath," Elliot said, again plainly. "And follow up with hydro pump!" Onix—and Tom's league run—immediately ended with a single blast of water.

"Onix is unable to battle, poliwrath wins! The victory goes to Elliot from Viridian City!" The judge declared.

"WOW! Would you look at that, folks! Elliot took no time in defeating Tom in this match. _This_ is a trainer that will go far!"

"Hey kid, good job. Your wigglytuff was pretty good," Elliot said, approaching his defeated opponent with encouraging words.

"Thanks Elliot, you did great too…good luck, I'll be rooting for ya…" Tom said, smiling but nonetheless feeling a little dejected. The two walked back through their ends of the stadium to meet their friends and family. Elliot was welcomed by the group, who congratulated him on his 3-0 victory and how incredible it was.

"Thanks everyone. He was a good kid. I think with some practice his wigglytuff could give me a run for my money one day."

"Heh, you got that uh right. Anyways, you guys want to grab something to eat?" JJ asked. The rest of the group nodded eagerly and, with Elliot joining them, they decided to head off to eat lunch before the next round began.

* * *

"Alright ladies and gentlemen! Welcome to round 3 of the Indigo League! As always, I'm your host, Colton Goodshow, and we will begin the next round of the day with the usual random selection of matches. So, if you will give the mega screen your attention, we will determine who of the remaining 32 trainers will be battling whom."

The 32 faces that appeared on the large screen began to spin around, ultimately landing in 16 pairs. Once the faces flipped, Niko, Fay, and Elliot looked for theirs. Elliot found his: he was battling some random trainer in the first match of the round.

Niko was battling Fay.


	50. Episode 50: Niko vs Fay!

**Episode 50: Niko vs Fay!**

The two friends looked at each other, a little shocked that they would have to face one another. JJ and Brittany were equally surprised.

"The first battles will begin in 10 minutes!" Colton Goodshow announced before muting his microphone.

"Well Fay, I guess this is it. One of us will make it through to the next round…" Niko said after a minute of silence.

"I don't know who to root for…" JJ said, worried about how this would all end.

"Well, regardless of who wins, we'll still be friends, right?" Fay wondered.

"Of course we will be! Why wouldn't we be?" Niko said, immediately denying the possibility of ending a friendship as long as theirs over a single battle. "Let's just do our best, alright?"

"And have fun with it, too!" Fay said. The two shook hands.

They were to battle in the large stadium this time. JJ and Brittany took their seats with Niko's family as their two friends each took a spot at opposing ends of the battlefield. For the last five rounds, the matches would be held on randomly chosen battlefields. This match in particular was held on a rocky terrain, with large triangle-shaped rocks jutting out of the ground in random locations across the field.

"Alright folks, we're back with the first match of the third round in the Indigo League tournament! Here we have Niko and Fay, both from Pallet Town! Wow, what are the chances of that? Just like the last round, this one will be a 3-on-3 match and, judging from these trainer's previous matches, should be an interesting one to watch. Now, whenever the judge is finished explaining the rules, we will be able to begin!"

The judge looked at both Niko and Fay, both trainers nodding to confirm that they understood the terms of the match. Once they did so, the judge raised his flags, indicating that the match was ready to begin.

"Hitmonchan, I choose you!"

"Hitmonlee, you're up!"

"Wow! A hitmonchan _and_ a hitmonlee! What an interesting start to this match! It's like both trainers have read the other's mind!" Colton Goodshow yelled out in excitement. "Let's see how this turns out!"

"Hitmonlee, let's start this off with a double kick!" Fay commanded. The kicking pokémon spun around and launched its extended leg at its opponent.

"Hitmonchan, slam it into the ground with mega punch!" Niko yelled out. Hitmonchan attempted to do so, but the kick was far too fast for the ordinarily reflexive punching pokémon, who flew backwards, landing on its back. "C'mon hitmonchan! Get up!"

"Hitmonlee, use mega kick!"

"Run at hitmonlee and use mega punch!" Niko cried out. The two fighting types collided, a fist and a foot slamming into one another, sending shock waves out from the sheer force of the collision. "Follow up with thunderpunch and firepunch!"

"Hitmonlee, double kick to block both!"

Hitmonchan's gloves lit up in flames and sparks of electricity, but both were successfully blocked by hitmonlee's skillful maneuvering. Niko commanded it to use comet punch again, only to see it blocked by hitmonlee's double kick once again.

 _Think, Niko, think…how do I fight this?_ Niko began to panic a little, trying to figure out a way to land an attack on Fay's pokémon. "Alright, hitmonchan, I've got it! Combine thunderpunch and comet punch!"

Hitmonchan nodded, still focused on its opponent. Both of its gloves then began to generate electricity. The punching pokémon then furiously attacked its opponent, with hitmonlee attempting to defend with double kick. Once one of the attacks landed, the kicking pokémon was send backwards a few feet, still holding its ground though.

"Hitmonlee, mega kick!" Fay commanded calmly, not showing any signs of panic just yet.

"Hitmonchan, dodge and use firepunch!" Niko cried out, showing the opposite reaction to his friend. The punching pokémon was able to dodge its opponent, and land a fistful of fire on hitmonlee's face, knocking the pokémon backwards again. "Finish it off with mega punch!"

"Mega kick hitmonlee!" Fay screamed out. Despite both attacks landing, hitmonlee had already taken a fair amount of damage; this final mega punch managed to finish it off.

"Hitmonlee is unable to battle, hitmonchan wins! Fay will now send out his second pokémon!"

"Electabuzz, you're up!" Fay commanded, again calmly. Niko had a sense that his friend knew what he was doing. "Thunderpunch!"

"Firepunch, hitmonchan!"

The two pokémon collided, once again sending shock waves through the battlefield. A few of the rocks on the field shattered from the impact of the two punches. Both electabuzz and hitmonchan fell back, the latter far more exhausted. But Fay knew this. He also knew electabuzz hated to lose.

"Electabuzz, thunderbolt!"

"Just like in the Viridian Gym, hitmonchan! Grab it with your fist using mega punch and slam it into the ground!" Niko said. The fighting type obeyed, performing a similar strategy to that of its battle with Giovanni's nidoking. However, the process took time, and electabuzz was not a slow pokémon.

"Electabuzz, use thunderpunch!" Fay commanded. The electric pokémon rushed up and uppercut its opponent, sending it flying backwards through the air and crashing into the ground.

"Hitmonchan, you got anything left in you, buddy?" Niko asked. His pokémon nodded, slowly getting up. Electabuzz and Fay stood there waiting, not willing to attack hitmonchan while it's down. For a battle like this, neither Fay nor Niko had any intention of being merciless. "Alright buddy, make me proud. Use mega punch!"

"Electabuzz, use thunderpunch!" Fay commanded. Once again, the two pokémon collided, although hitmonchan, having taken a serious amount of damage already, fell to the thunderpunch before it could land on electabuzz, taking the electric fist to the face and collapsing backwards on the battlefield.

"Hitmonchan is unable to battle, electabuzz wins! Niko will send out his second pokémon!"

"Ivysaur, let's go!" Niko yelled out. He was fired up now. In the moment, he truly enjoyed battling his friend. "Razor leaf!"

"Electabuzz, halt it with thunderbolt!" Fay calmly commanded. The electric pokémon unleashed a powerful bolt of electricity, stopping the razor sharp leaves in their place. "Now follow up with thunderpunch!"

"Ivysaur, stun spore!" Niko commanded.

"Niko, don't think I don't know how you battle. Electabuzz, switch to thunderbolt!"

Both attacks managed to hit; electabuzz was temporarily stunned; ivysaur took serious damage from the thunderbolt. But Niko still had the upper hand.

"Razor leaf now!" Niko yelled out. The attack landed successfully, hitting electabuzz up close, causing the electric pokémon to fall backwards on its tail. "Follow up with vine whip!"

"Oh, Niko…" Fay chuckled. "Electabuzz, grab the vines and use thunderbolt!"

Ivysaur howled as the electricity from thunderbolt flowed through its body. Trying to escape the pain, it used razor leaf once again. Electabuzz, taking damage from the sharp leaves, let go of the green vines and stepped back.

"Ivysaur, are you okay?" Niko asked. His seed pokémon turned to him, and nodded. "Great, let's keep it up, buddy, use—huh?"

Niko looked down. His pokémon began to glow. Looking up, he noticed the sun, at midday, was staring straight down at the field. It didn't take long for him to figure out what was going on.

"You're…healing?"

"Sure looks like it, Niko! Ivysaur is learning a new move!" Fay said with a congratulatory tone. "Not sure what it's called, but hey, it's still something!" Niko smiled back. He liked that Fay, despite being his opponent, wasn't being a jerk. However, they still had a battle to fight.

"Ivysaur, use razor leaf once again!" Niko screamed out. Fay and electabuzz, who had seen the attack coming, retaliated with a thunderbolt. "Now run in and use razor leaf at the same time!"

The seed pokémon rushed at its opponent, trying to gather up speed while unleashing a torrent of leaves. Only the latter seemed to work, with electabuzz recoiling from the damage of the leaves. Niko then commanded a final stun spore to lock its opponent in place.

"Finish it off with vine whip!" Cried Niko.

"Don't give in, electabuzz, remember you're tougher than this! Use thunderpunch!" Electabuzz, hearing its trainer, nodded and _broke_ the paralysis, slamming its electrified fist into ivysaur's bulb. However, it couldn't take the vine whip, and collapsed on its opponent.

"Electabuzz is unable to battle, ivysaur wins! Fay will send out his final pokémon!" The judge declared.

"Alright buddy, it's all up to you. Charizard, I choose you!"

"Ivysaur, back away and heal up!" Niko yelled out. His pokémon did as was told, running back to its trainer while collecting energy from the sun. "Alright, now return buddy. You did a great job, but I need you for later."

"Well, looks like Niko is substituting his ivysaur for something else, folks! Will he be sending something out to challenge this powerful charizard?"

"You think Niko can win this?" Brittany said, clearly worried now. "He has two pokémon for sure, but one of them is ivysaur, who has a huge disadvantage against charizard…"

"Not likely. Fay's charizard is very strong, and I think Niko knows that," JJ responded.

Back on the field, Niko looked down at his third pokémon. "I think you can win this. Shellder, come on out!"

" _Shellder?_ " JJ said excitedly. "Why shellder?"

"It has the advantage, right?" Brittany replied. "That's probably what he's going for here."

"Yeah, but…alright, Niko has pulled off crazier wins before. But so has Fay…"

"Shellder, bubblebeam!" Niko commanded. It was met with a powerful flamethrower from charizard.

"Charizard, use wing attack!" Fay yelled out.

"Shellder, use withdraw!" The bivalve pokémon clamped its shell shut as the flame pokémon rushed at it with glowing white wings. Fay then followed up with dragon rage, directly on shellder's shell.

"It can't hide in there forever, Niko…" Fay called out.

"You're right, it can't!" Niko yelled back in response. "Just hold out for a bit longer, shellder. You can do it…"

"Charizard, pick it up and use seismic toss!" Fay commanded. The fire type grabbed the tiny shellder, but just as it was about to leap into the air, the bivalve pokémon opened its shell and grabbed onto charizard's hand, engulfing it.

"Shellder, bubblebeam!" Niko yelled out. The bivalve pokémon let lose a stream of bubbles while tightly gripping the flame pokémon's hand. Charizard yelped in pain, aggressively throwing its arm around to shake off its opponent. Shellder refused to let go, similar to how it fought with alakazam in the previous match. "Now, use aurora beam!"

"Charizard, slam shellder into one of the rocks!" Fay commanded as his fire type ran over to one of the large pointed rocks and slammed the bivalve pokémon into it.

"Don't give in, buddy! Use aurora beam again!" Niko commanded.

"Keep it up, charizard! Keep throwing it into the rock!" Fay responded, knowing fully well that using flamethrower or dragon rage wouldn't help matters much. Eventually, shellder gave up its assault, falling onto the ground, exhausted.

"Shellder, use bubblebeam again!" Niko cried out, now a little desperate. He knew the clamp move was the only way to battle charizard.

"Charizard, finish it off with dragon rage!" Fay yelled out. He was finally getting fired up, too. The flame pokémon unleashed a stream of purple fire from its maw, just as Lance taught it, and finished off the bivalve pokémon.

"Shellder is unable to battle, charizard wins! Niko will send out his final pokémon!"

"Well, would you look at that?" Colton Goodshow yelled through the mic. "Looks like this match is all but over for Niko here. Maybe he can pull it back, who knows!?"

Niko looked down at his final pokémon. His first pokémon. Realizing what was going to happen, he choked up momentarily before throwing his last pokémon out.

"Ivysaur…I choose you!"

"Charizard, use flamethrower!"

"Ivysaur, dodge and run at charizard!" Niko commanded. The seed pokémon barely got away from the stream of fire aimed at it, only receiving a small burn on its hind leg. "Use stun spore!"

"Charizard, grab it!" Fay yelled out. The flame pokémon took the stun spore, but managed to grab its opponent with both hands and picked it up.

"Ivysaur, give it your all! Use razor leaf! Vine whip! Now!" Niko said, choking up a little.

This battle had sent him through a rollercoaster of emotions, and now he was reaching the end. But it was a hard ride to stay on. Everything—from his first day as a trainer until now, from the first thought of wanting to be a trainer up until now. All those memories with his friends and pokémon—they all came to an end in these moments.

Charizard took the damage from the grass moves, not seeming phased. The stun spore wore off, and now Fay was ready to end this.

"Niko, let me just say this has been my favorite battle so far. I really enjoy travelling with you, and you're a great trainer. But I'm going to end this now. Charizard, seismic toss!"

"Ivysaur, we're not through yet! Wrap around charizard with vine whip!" The seed pokémon did as was told, wrapping its green vines around its much larger opponent's neck as the two flew high up into the air. As they began their quick descent, Niko followed up. "Use stun spore!"

The attack landed once again, paralyzing the flame pokémon. Ivysaur used its vines to swing around onto charizard's back and, as they got closer to the ground, to kick off of the fire type and fall towards the ground on its own. It then grabbed one of the pointed rocks with its vines and swung around, building up some momentum before launching itself back at charizard, who was laying on the ground, still stunned.

"Ivysaur, we can win this now! Use razor leaf!" Niko screamed out. Ivysaur collided with its opponent, launching a stream of sharp leaves at its opponent's back before crashing into it. Charizard then got up, albeit slowly, before looking down at its longtime friend and unleashing a final, however weak, flamethrower.

"Ivysaur is unable to battle, charizard wins! The victory goes to Fay from Pallet Town!" The judge declared.

Niko rushed over to his starter pokémon and got down to see it. A couple tears came streaming down his face as he looked at ivysaur.

"Hey buddy…I'm…I'm so proud of you. We almost won, and it's all because of you," Niko said, leaning over and hugging his pokémon. Fay and charizard walked over to their friend.

"Niko…" Fay started, but his friend wasn't listening. He reached out his hand to Niko, but the trainer didn't respond, only holding ivysaur. "Alright, let's talk later. Thanks for the battle."

* * *

Niko sat intheir suite, looking out at the front grounds of Indigo Plateau as the sun set. He decided to be alone for the time being, while Fay, JJ, and Brittany had gone out to watch the rest of the matches. His pokémon, sound asleep on his bed after a long day, lay next to him.

Eventually, magnemite woke up and hovered over to its trainer. Niko noticed, and stared at his little pokémon.

"I'm sorry I didn't get to use you in the tournament, magnemite…really sorry."

The magnet pokémon chittered a little, hovering happily next to its trainer. It didn't seem to be upset. However, it did notice that its trainer was.

"I could have done better…I could have!" Niko slammed his fists onto his knees, another set of tears falling down. This woke up shellder and ivysaur, who looked over at their distressed trainer. The seed pokémon moved one of its vines over and gently rubbed Niko's back. "I failed you guys…I really did this time…you're a team worthy of winning the tournament, or at least beating Fay…you surprise me every time we battle, and I couldn't live up to that! I'M SO SORRY!"

His head was not in his hands as he broke down. Now, hitmonchan, pidgeot, and kadabra were awake, and the six pokémon crowded around their trainer.

"Ivy…" Niko looked up to see ivysaur in front of him, looking concerned. "Ivy saur…ivy ivy saur…" Both of his vines were now resting on Niko's shoulders. "Ivy! Ivysaur!"

"I don't know what you're saying buddy, but thanks…I guess?" Niko stood up, throwing a fist in the air out of anger. "Agh! What was the point of all of this!? Why did I spend so much of my time out here travelling, and training!? I could have just stayed home and continued studying! That's what I was meant to do, anyways…" Niko looked at the sun as it was just about to set behind the mountain range in the distance. The room got a little darker, engulfing a defeated Niko and his team.

* * *

Back at the stadium, Fay, JJ, Brittany, and Elliot—who had made it through the round as well—watched at Colton Goodshow commenced the next round of the tournament at sunset.

"Wellllcome to the next round of the Indigo League! We are now down to our final 16 trainers! This is the last round where battles will be held in the smaller stadiums, but now each match will be full 6-on-6 battles! Without further ado, let's see the pairings that will determine the final 8!"

The 16 faces began to spin around on the screen, randomly pairing up with one another. Fay and Elliot both looked around for their faces before noticing that they would be fighting one another.

"Well, Fay, looks like we get to finally have a proper battle…" Elliot said, a little excited.

"Looks like it bud. Best of luck!" He said, patting his rival on the back.

"The next two rounds of battles will commence tomorrow morning. See you all then!" Colton Goodshow said before muting his mic for the rest of the day.


	51. Episode 51: Family fight!

**Episode 51: Family fight!**

"Niko? Niko?" Brittany said as she opened the door to their suite. "Niko are you in here?"

The suit was pretty dark for the most part. There was a light on in JJ and Fay's room (probably because they forgot to turn it off before leaving), but otherwise the room was unlit. The brunette walked in the room she was sharing with Niko and noticed her brown-haired friend passed out on his bed, all of his pokémon passed out on his bed, Brittany's or, in the case of hitmonchan, in the armchair in the corner of the room.

Brittany walked over to her friend, stepping over pidgeot in the process. She gently shook Niko awake. "Hey buddy, we're going to get dinner. You hungry?"

Niko shook his head as he sat up, waking up magnemite and ivysaur. He rubbed his eyes and patted down his hair a little before going to turn on the lamp next to him. His corner of the room was engulfed in light, waking up the rest of his team.

"Hey Brittany, thanks for waking us up. Yeah, we'll be down in a couple minutes, alright?"

"Got it, see ya there," The brunette said as she walked out of the room, leaving Niko alone with his pokémon.

"You guys sleep well?" He asked. His team answered groggily, also trying to gather themselves. "Whadda ya say we grab some food now? I bet you guys are hungry."

"Niko!" JJ said, waving to his friend and the team of pokémon trailing behind him. "Sleep uh well?" Niko nodded as he sat down next to JJ, still rubbing his eyes.

"Did I miss anything? Sorry for falling asleep, I was pretty exhausted…"

"Dude, it's totally fine! I can understand," Fay replied, "You didn't miss much. The next round starts tomorrow morning, and Elliot and I are fighting each other in the first match of the day."

"Oh really? Well damn, that should be a fun battle to watch!" Niko responded, perking up a little. However, it wasn't difficult to tell that something was still wrong with him. His friends just chose not to bring it up.

"Yeah, a full 6-on-6 battle. Fay and I haven't had a proper battle yet, so it should be interesting," Elliot replied after finishing his dinner. "My team will certainly be ready!" This elicited a smile from Fay, who responded similarly.

As the group was walking back to their suite, Brittany walked beside Niko. "Hey…are you doing alright? You seemed pretty defeated—I mean—well, you know what I mean, right?"

"Heh, yeah I do. And don't worry about me…I'm fine, Brittany."

"Well, if you need anything, or someone to talk to, please let me know, okay?"

"Alright Brittany, I will. Thanks," Niko said, bringing his friend into an embrace as they got back to their suite. Fay and JJ went to their room; Niko and Brittany to theirs, each ready to head to bed. Although, Niko, understandably, had difficulty sleeping that night. Partly because he had recently woken up, but also from the day's events. He had begun the day riding high on his first match with pidgeot evolving, his second with shellder beating an _alakazam_ of all things, and then ending it with an embarrassing defeat at the hands of his friend. After a few hours of not sleeping, he got up and took a walk alone.

The main stadium was, unsurprisingly, empty. Niko leaned against a railing and looked down at the field. It was difficult to look at, since all he could see was flashbacks of the battle with Fay. Suddenly, out of nowhere an older man stood there next to him.

"Hmm?" Niko said, looking up. The man was raven-haired with brown eyes. He was dressed in a black shirt with a dark blue jacket.

"Hey, you battled today, didn't you?" Niko nodded. "Well, you did pretty well. I was really impressed by that ivysaur of yours."

"Thanks, it's my starter pokémon."

"Professor Oak gave it to you, didn't he?" Niko nodded. "Hah! He's a great guy. He's helped me out in so many ways as well," The man looked down at the field. "I remember when I first competed here. It was a long time ago, and I had a lot of fun. But I didn't do as well as I had hoped."

"Oh, really?"

"Yeah. I made top 16. Lost to a friend of mine as well. But, I kept on travelling and improving. Eventually I came back and I won this tournament. But I couldn't have done it without my pokémon. Well, that and that I never gave up. If you give up, you'll never realize your full potential. Think about it," The man winked at Niko. "You have potential—I can tell. You just have to see it yourself. Anyways, best of luck to your friend tomorrow."

"Wait, sir!" Niko said as the man walked away. "Who are you…?"

"A fellow Pallet Town native."

The next morning, Niko woke up last. Fay had already left to have breakfast and get to the stadium to prepare. The rest of the group didn't have to leave nearly as early, but nonetheless still rushed through getting dressed and getting something to eat. They met up with Niko's family and took their seats just as the judge was about to explain the rules of the match, which were nearly identical to the previous rounds. The battlefield, this time, was a grassy field. The judge then lifted his two flags into the air, indicating the start of the match.

"Nidoking, let's go!"

"Gyarados, I choose you!" Fay yelled out. "Let's start off with dragon rage!"

"Nidoking, poison sting!" Elliot commanded. The poison sting burst into flames as it met the purple flames, but it only seemed to be a distraction, as the drill pokémon then followed up with a mega punch to gyarados' stomach, sending it crashing into the ground.

"Whack it with your tail!" Fay responded. "And use water gun!"

"Nidoking, grab the tail and use bite!" The poison type successfully grabbed onto the atrocious pokémon's scaly tail, but couldn't land a bite attack, since it took a gush of water to the face, causing it to let go and take a few steps back, recoiling from the water gun. Gyarados then got up and slammed its tail into nidoking's side, unleashing another water gun at the drill pokémon.

"Gyarados, dragon rage again!"

"Nidoking, block it with rock slide!"

Like before, the dragon rage dissipated with nidoking's attack. However, this time gyarados was the one who used a follow up attack, leaning forward and hurling its body at nidoking, grabbing onto its head with a bite attack and proceeding to use water gun, dousing the drill pokémon in water. Nidoking tried responding with a horn attack, but gyarados evaded and slammed its tail into nidoking's side, knocking the pokémon over before successfully landing a dragon rage.

"Nidoking is unable to battle, gyarados wins!" The judge declared.

"Raichu, you're up!"

"Gyarados, let's keep at it. Use dragon rage!"

"Agility, raichu!" Elliot responded. "And follow up with double team!"

Suddenly a dozen copies of the mouse pokémon appeared, all running at the atrocious pokémon. Fay commanded his pokémon to use dragon rage, but it was too late. The atrocious pokémon was overwhelmed by the dozen thunderbolt aimed directly at it, ultimately defeating it.

"Gyarados is unable to battle, raichu wins!"

"Primeape, you're up! Let's match speed with attack power, use double kick on the copies!"

"Raichu, use mega kick!" Elliot commanded. The pig monkey rushed into the middle of a dozen raichus running at it, leaping into the air and slamming its feet into each one, only taking a couple kicks to the body before finally hitting the real raichu.

"Great job, primeape! Use cross chop!"

"Raichu, thunderbolt!" Primeape took the thunderbolt head on, but persisted nonetheless and slammed into raichu, unleashing two powerful karate chops on the electric type, launching it several feet backwards.

"Primeape, finish it off with mega punch!" Fay cried out.

"Raichu, mega kick!"

The two attacks collided together, with raichu following up with a thunderbolt. The pig monkey ended its mega punch and rolled to the side to evade. It followed up with a cross chop to raichu's face, ending the mouse pokémon.

"Raichu is unable to battle, primeape wins!"

"Scyther, come on out!" Elliot said, sending out his signature pokémon. "Let's use agility!"

"Primeape, wait for it. We want to fight it on our terms," Fay said softly to his pig monkey, who had walked back closer to its trainer. Scyther then rushed as the fighting type with glowing white wings, indicating a wing attack. "Primeape, jump into the air and land with double kick!"

"Scyther, switch to slash and it upwards!" Elliot said. The mantis pokémon rotated its body to directly face its opponent and slashed upwards with its scythe, hooking onto primeape's foot. "Now, send it flying!" Scyther pushed its scythe forward, sending the fighting type crashing into the grass. "Wing attack!"

"You're stronger than this, primeape! Get up and use mega punch to repel scyther!" Fay commanded. The pig monkey then slammed its glowing fist into the bug type's wing, creating a small explosion that repelled both pokémon in opposite directions.

"Scyther, agility and follow up with slash!" Elliot cried out.

"Primeape, cross chop!"

Scyther began slashing its scythes repeatedly, while primeape used cross chop to defend itself from the onslaught of attacks. Eventually it landed its attack, but suddenly became open to attack. Scyther landed a final slash attack, ending primeape's fight.

"Primeape is unable to battle, scyther wins!" The judge declared.

"Charizard, I choose you!" Fay yelled out.

"Ah, your starter pokémon. This'll be fun!" Elliot yelled out. "Scyther, agility!"

"Charizard, let's win this. Use wing attack!" The flame pokémon rushed at its opponent. Both used wing attack, but only charizard came out of it hardly phased. The lizard turned around to face damaged scyther.

"Scyther, agility again! Let's run circles around this thing!"

"Charizard, flamethrower!" Fay commanded. The fire type unleashed a powerful stream of fire at its opponent, who easily evaded.

"Fay, scyther's speed can't be matched here," Elliot said confidently.

"Speed isn't what I'm looking for. Charizard, cover the field in fire!" Elliot's eyes widened.

"No—no problem! Scyther, fly into the air to escape!"

"Won't work! Charizard fly right at it with wing attack!"

"Scyther, you use slash!" Elliot quickly responded. The mantis pokémon waited for charizard to get within its reach before attempting to land a slash. Instead, charizard tackled scyther midair, eventually grabbing onto it.

"Charizard, finish it off with seismic toss!" Fay yelled out. The flame pokémon then rushed directly into the air and proceeded to come crashing back down onto the now burnt field, ending scyther's run in the match.

"Scyther is unable to battle, charizard wins!" The judge declared.

"Ditto, I choose you!" Elliot yelled out, summoning a small pink slime-like pokémon. Unfamiliar with it, Niko pulled out his pokédex to examine it:

" _Ditto, the transform pokémon. When it spots an enemy, its body transforms into an almost perfect copy of its opponent_."

"Ditto, transform!" Elliot commanded. The pink slime pokémon began to glow as it grew to charizard's size, stealing its appearance (with the exception of its eyes, which remained small, beady black eyes). "Now use wing attack!"

"Charizard, dragon rage!" Fay commanded, throwing out his hand as a gesture. The flame pokémon unleashed purple flames from its maw at the transform pokémon, engulfing it before rushing at it with its own wing attack, tackling its doppelganger and proceeding to lift it into the air to perform a seismic toss.

"Ditto, use dragon rage!" Elliot cried out. The charizard copy unleashed its own purple fire as it was being carried into the air. The flame pokémon endured the attack as it turned around and descended back towards the ground, letting go of ditto-charizard and flying away.

"Charizard, turn around and use dragon rage again!" Fay commanded. The flame pokémon landed before launching its dragon rage again, finally subduing the ditto-charizard, causing the transform pokémon to return back to its original state.

"Ditto is unable to battle, charizard wins!" The judge declared.

"Poliwrath, you're up!" Elliot commanded, sending out his signature water type. "I told you I'll play by type advantages. Poliwrath, hydro pump!"

"Charizard, dodge it and use wing attack!" Fay said. The flame pokémon agilely evaded the powerful burst of water aimed at it before rushing at the tadpole pokémon with its glowing wings. It successfully landed the hit and followed up with a seismic toss as it did before with scyther and ditto. However, poliwrath was far stronger.

"Poliwrath, hydro pump before it takes off!" Elliot commanded. The water type slammed charizard in the chest with a burst of water, launching it backwards through the blackened field of grass. Charizard collapsed on its back as poliwrath leapt through the air and landed a powerful cross chop on the flame pokémon.

"Charizard, you can withstand this! Use dragon rage!"

"Poliwrath, hydro pump!" Elliot cried out. The two attack collided, dealing damage to both pokémon. Charizard, however, took more.

"Charizard is unable to battle, poliwrath wins!" The judge declared.

"Damn, even with charizard out Fay is doing pretty well. He might be able to win this!" JJ said. "He has three pokémon left, and Elliot only has two!"

"I wouldn't underestimate that poliwrath, though," Niko replied. "I've fought it before, it's not weak at all."

"Hitmonlee, you're up!" Fay said. "Let's fight fighting with fighting! Use mega kick!"

"Poliwrath, cross chop!" Elliot yelled out. The two fighting types collided, creating another high-energy shockwave that rocked the battlefield. Hitmonlee then spun around and landed a rolling kick on its opponent, while poliwrath repelled it with hydro pump. The kicking pokémon sent its extended leg out at the water type, slammed its foot into poliwrath's face with double kick. "Grab it, poliwrath, and use seismic toss!"

"Hitmonlee!" Fay cried out as the tadpole pokémon spun his fighting type around before throwing it into the wall below Fay's friends. "Get up buddy, you can continue fighting! Use mega kick!"

"Monlee!" The kicking pokémon yelled out, leaping back onto the battlefield and rushing towards its opponent, both feet glowing white.

"Poliwrath, use cross chop!" Elliot commanded. Hitmonlee leapt into the air and crashed down on the tadpole pokémon, who responded with releasing its cross chop, propelling its opponent into the air. Hitmonlee came crashing back down, defeated.

"Hitmonlee is unable to battle, poliwrath wins!" The judge declared.

"Alright Elliot, if you want to play this pokémon type game, we can play it. Electabuzz, I choose you! Use thunderpunch!"

"Poliwrath, hydro pump!" Elliot yelled out, in an attempt to slow down electabuzz. However, the electric pokémon could not be stopped. It rushed through the burst of water, creating explosions around it before ultimately landing a thunderpunch on the tadpole pokémon, who retaliated with its own mega punch.

The two pokémon exchanged punches, poliwrath seeming to take more damaged. Eventually, electabuzz was able to paralyze the water type. Fay saw this as his opportunity to end one of Elliot's stronger pokémon.

"Electabuzz, channel all of your energy into one final thunderbolt!" Fay screamed out. The electric pokémon, fired up from the battle, began crackling as it was building up electricity in its body. But it didn't use thunderbolt. It used an attack far more powerful.

"Wow, would you look at that thunder!?" Colton Goodshow yelled out in excitement. "Looks like Fay and his electabuzz learned a new move!"

"Poliwrath, try to dodge it!" Elliot cried out, albeit too late. Poliwrath took the powerful thunder move before collapsing on its back.

"Poliwrath is unable to battle, electabuzz wins! Elliot will now send out his final pokémon!"

"Wow! Fay could actually win this now, especially after electabuzz learned a new move!" JJ cried out, beyond excited for his friend. Niko smiled, realizing his friend's true strength as well.

"Alright, Fay, you're pretty good. But in all of time you've known me, I've never told you about my first pokémon. Flareon, I choose you!"

"Electabuzz, this guy is probably pretty strong. Let's give it our all here, alright?" Fay said plainly. The electric pokémon smirked as it eyed its new opponent. "Use thunder!"

"Flareon, fire blast!" Elliot screamed out. The two elemental moves collided in the center of the battlefield. "Follow up with skull bash!"

"Electabuzz, thunderpunch!" Fay commanded. The two pokémon rushed at each other, head meeting electrified fist, before causing an explosion, sending electabuzz flying backwards. "Alright buddy, keep it up, use thunder again!"

"Flareon, evade the thunder with agility!" Elliot said. The flame pokémon rushed to the right before speeding up significantly. "Now, use quick attack!"

"Electabuzz, meet it head on with thunderpunch!"

Flareon rushed at electabuzz quicker than the electric type could react to, slamming into its chest and sending it yards backwards, far past Fay and into the same wall hitmonlee crashed into earlier. "Electabuzz, can you get up?" The pokémon nodded, holding its thumb up. "Excellent, let's win this, right here and now. Thunder!"

"Flareon, dodge again with agility and finish off electabuzz with skull bash!" Elliot commanded. The fire type repeated its previous strategy, dodging the oncoming electric attack with incredible speed and then head-butting electabuzz in the chest, ultimately subduing the pokémon.

"Electabuzz is unable to battle, flareon wins! Fay will now send out his final pokémon!"

"Wow! Down to the final pokémon for each trainer! Folks, this has been one incredible match by two of the must-watch trainers of this tournament! Who will come out victorious, and earn a spot in the final 8?" Colton Goodshow yelled excitedly through the mic.

"You're my last pokémon, let's win this, here and now!" Fay said, throwing out his sixth pokéball. "Dragonair, I choose you!"

"Dragonair?" Elliot said, "Nice. Those are pretty rare. Let's see how strong it actually is, though. Flareon, fire blast!"

"Dragonair, retaliate with dragon rage!" Fay cried out. The dragon pokémon blew out purple flames from its mouth, colliding with the five-pointed fire blast. "Now, rush up and use wrap!"

"Flareon, dodge and use agility!" Elliot commanded. "And follow up with a skull bash!"

"Dragonair, stop and wait for it…" Fay said. Having previously noticed how flareon uses skull bash, he noticed an opportunity. As the flame pokémon ran quickly at the dragon type, Fay noticed it slowing down significantly before landing its attack (although it was still moving at an incredible speed). "Dragonair, slam your tail down on flareon!"

Dragonair lifted purple tail up and whipped it downwards onto its opponent, causing flareon to crash into the ground.

" _What?_ " Elliot screamed out. "How did you manage that?"

"Timing. Flareon slows down every time it uses skull bash," Fay replied. "Now dragonair, let's finish this! Dragon rage!"

"Flareon, get up and use agility!" Elliot said. However, the fire type was too slow, as it took the purple flames and fell back to the ground.

"Dragonair, use wrap and follow up with dragon rage again!" Fay screamed out. The dragon type grabbed onto flareon, constricting it in its strong tail before unleashing another dragon rage. Flareon, with some breath left, belted out a fire blast directed at dragonair's face, loosening its grip and allowing the flame pokémon to release itself.

"Flareon, we're not done yet! Skull bash!"

"Dragonair, neither are we! Dragon rage!" Fay yelled out. Flareon collided with the dragon rage, rushing through the purple fire before hitting the dragon type. However, it was again susceptible to wrap, which is exactly what Fay and dragonair did. The flame pokémon found itself back in the tight grasp of its opponent.

"Flareon, fire blast!" Elliot, seeing the end of the match, cried out.

"Finish it off with dragon rage, now!" Fay screamed out to the heavens. His pokémon unleashed a powerful stream of purple fire at its opponent before it could act. The flame pokémon was then released from dragonair's grasp, and it collapsed onto the ground.

"Flareon is unable to battle, dragonair wins! The victory goes to Fay from Pallet Town!"

"Dragonair! We did it!" Fay yelled out happily, embracing his tall dragon pokémon. Dragonair cooed a little, equally happy with its win.

Elliot walked up to his kin, looking a mixture of disappointment and satisfaction, if that's even possible.

"Fay, thank you for the battle. I had a lot of fun."

"Same here, buddy. Let's both keep at it, alright?" Fay said, holding his hand out.

Elliot grasped it in a handshake. "Yeah, and I want to battle you again sometime. Flareon won't lose again, be sure of it!"

"Neither will any of my pokémon. Be sure of it."

Fay and Elliot met with his friends in the dining hall. JJ, Brittany, and Niko all greeted him with excitement. Even their pokémon were out, running up to congratulate the two on a hard-fought battle.

"So Fay, final 8 right? Think you can go all the way now?" JJ said, nudging his longtime friend.

"Well, we'll see. I don't even know my opponent yet."

"On our way to watch your match, I saw this one guy with a strange-looking pokémon. I think it was called a tyranitar? Anyways, he looked pretty strong. Hopefully you don't have to face him," Brittany said.

"Well, if he's as strong as you say he is, I might have to if I want to win it all," Fay replied. Brittany brought him into an embrace as well, noting how proud she was of him.

The group then sat down for a meal before heading back to the stadium for the announcement of the pairings for the next round. As usual, Colton Goodshow was at his microphone excitedly talking to the crowd.

"Wow! We're now at the fifth round of the Indigo League Tournament! We're down to the final 8 trainers, all of whom will be battling in this stadium. They will again be full 6-on-6 battles, and each with a random battlefield set up. Now, if you'll turn your attention to the mega screen where we will reveal the randomly selected matches."

The group looked around for Fay's face to appear on screen. It did, next to a young adult man who looked a few years older than Fay. Brittany immediately recognized him.

"He's the trainer with the tyranitar!" She cried out.

"Alright, so at least I know who I'm facing…" Fay said, looking determined as ever. Niko was equally determined for his friend, despite his previous feelings about their battle.


	52. Episode 52: Fay and Charizard!

**Episode 52: Fay and charizard!**

Fay had made it to the quarterfinals of the Indigo League, previously defeating his friend Niko and family member Elliot. Now, in the final 8, he was facing off against a man Brittany had seen battle in the previous round. Supposedly the trainer had a pokémon named tyranitar, but none of them had seen one before and knew nothing about it.

They had little time to further investigate, and so Fay decided it was best to go into the battle without information, believing that he and his pokémon could overcome this strange new opponent.

"Welcome to the quarterfinals of the Indigo League Tournament!" Colton Goodshow said through the microphone. "We're starting off with our first match of the day, Fay from Pallet Town versus James of Blackthorn City in the Johto region! Both trainers have had impressive battles so far, so we are all looking forward to seeing what these two do now."

The judge explained the rules of the match to the two trainers and, once they indicated that they understood, began the battle on the sandy battlefield.

"Electrode, you're up!" James cried out.

"Primeape, I choose you! Let's start off with a cross chop!"

"And Fay is out of the starting gate immediately with a cross chop! How will James respond?" Mr. Goodshow cried out excitedly.

"Electrode, agility!" James said. The older trainer was only slightly taller than Fay, with dark orange hair and a lighter orange soul patch under his mouth. He wore thin-rimmed glasses and sported a leather jacket over a light gray t-shirt with denim jeans for pants.

Anyways, the ball pokémon spun around before launching itself at primeape, whose hands were glowing white and arms cross in an "x" shape. The two pokémon collided, electrode falling to the ground while primeape launched a double kick from midair. Electrode moved out of the way, its speed having increased from the agility. The pig monkey crashed into the ground and took a sonic boom to the back from its opponent, flying forwards towards James.

"Primeape, get up buddy!" Fay commanded. "Turn around and use mega punch!"

"Electrode, screech," James said softly, adjusting his glasses slightly. The electric type emitted an ear-piercing sound from its body, causing primeape to fall to its knees while holding its hands to its ears. "And follow up with a thunderbolt, full power!"

The ball pokémon spun around again, generating an enormous amount of electricity as it proceeded to shoot it all at primeape. The fighting type took the attack, crying out from the damage it was causing, and proceeded to fall flat on its face.

"Primeape is unable to battle, electrode wins! Fay will send out his second pokémon!" The judge declared.

"Wow…a powerful pokémon like primeape out just like that…?" Brittany said, looking concerned. "Fay has to fight _six_ pokémon that strong?" Niko and JJ nodded in agreement. However, it was only the start of the battle. There was opportunity to make up ground.

"Hitmonlee, let's go!" Fay cried out. "This thing is fast, but so are we! Use mega kick!"

"Electrode, agility!" James commanded. Once again, electrode spun around like a top to increase its speed, and proceeded to launch into a sonic boom attack. Hitmonlee, on the other hand, leapt through the air, breaking through the sonic boom with its glowing foot and finally landed an attack on an unsuspecting electrode.

"Hmm…electrode, use screech again!"

"Hitmonlee, cover your ears and use double kick this time!" Fay yelled out. The kicking pokémon plugged its ears and then rushed at its opponent, spinning around and kicking the electrode multiple times. James allowed it to take the hit, replying when it seemed like hitmonlee was getting exhausted.

"Electrode, use thunderbolt!" The trainer said calmly. Electrode spun once again, this time generating another enormous amount of electricity.

"Hitmonlee, before it attacks kick it with mega kick!" Fay commanded. The kicking pokémon nodded, taking a few steps backwards and, just like it saw on TV once, kicked electrode like a soccer ball, sending it flying into the wall behind James.

"Electrode is unable to battle, hitmonlee wins! James will now send out his second pokémon!" The judge declared.

"Jynx, I choose you!"

"Charizard, you're up!" Niko pulled out his pokédex to examine the unfamiliar jynx:

" _Jynx, the human shape pokémon. Appears to move to a rhythm of its own, as if it were dancing. It wiggles its hips as it walks_."

"Charizard, let's start off with a flamethrower!" Fay commanded.

"Jynx, respond with blizzard!" James said. The two elemental attacks collided, the stream of fire burst through the stream of cold air that enveloped the battlefield. Fay responded with charizard rushing forward with a wing attack/seismic toss combo. James, having seen Fay's previous battles, saw the combination coming and retaliated accordingly.

"Jynx, respond with water gun!" James commanded. The human shape pokémon unleashed a burst of water, directly hitting charizard in the face and causing it to crash land in the sand. "Now, use thrash!"

"Charizard, get up quickly and use flamethrower, full power!" Fay screamed out. The flame pokémon tried to stand back up, but the sand made it difficult to quickly do so, and was met with the ice type slapping and punching it repeatedly. "Charizard, you have to fight back! Grab it and use seismic toss!"

The flame pokémon fought through the thrashing and picked jynx up and launched them both into the air like a missile. Charizard flew high up into the sky before descending downwards at an incredible speed, letting go of jynx before landing so that it wouldn't take damage as well.

Fay then saw an opportunity to finish jynx off while it was trying to get up, taking the same page from James' playbook previously. "Charizard, flamethrower while it's getting back up! Full power!"

Jynx was then hit with a strong stream of flames that knocked it back over into the sand. Charizard then rushed forward and slammed into it with wing attack, effectively ending the human shape pokémon.

"Jynx is unable to battle, charizard wins!" The judge declared.

"Pinsir, you're up!" James said, smirking a little, as if he had something sinister in mind.

"Charizard, let's finish this one off, too! Use flamethrower!"

"Pinsir, dodge and use swords dance!" The stag beetle pokémon then waved its arms upwards, creating swords out of nowhere before having them disappear immediately afterwards. "Now, use slash!"

"Charizard, use dragon rage!" Fay said as the fire type stood its ground before unleashing a powerful purple flame at its opponent. Pinsir stopped in its tracks, taking in the hit. "Now, flamethrower!"

"Pinsir, dodge again and use swords dance!" James repeated. The bug type repeated the same moves as before and proceeded to rush at charizard again. Dodging yet another flamethrower, pinsir finally was able to land an attack on its opponent, but at the cost of being subject to another seismic toss.

After charizard threw pinsir onto the ground, it got caught in the stag beetle's large pincer, bringing it down into the sand as well. It then got up—faster than the much larger charizard—and slashed at the flame pokémon's wings. Charizard cried out in pain as it tried to get back up. Taking a couple more slashes, it finally rose up to its full height and unleashed a powerful flamethrower that effectively defeated the stag beetle.

"Pinsir is unable to battle, charizard wins!" The judge declared.

"Heh, alright then. Lapras, you're up!

"Wow, Fay isn't doing too badly! He has five pokémon left, and James has three," JJ said excitedly.

"Well, keep in mind he does have this tyranitar. Plus, charizard—while clearly his ace—is damaged from two battles already. So it's almost even," Niko replied, looking concerned for his friend. He also pulled out the pokédex, unfamiliar with this new pokémon:

" _Lapras, the transport pokémon. A gentle soul that can read the minds of people. It can ferry people across the sea on its back_."

"Charizard, return," Fay said, "Hitmonlee, you're up!"

"Good choice, Fay!" James yelled across the field, "Would have been difficult for charizard to take on lapras, especially after two battles. Lapras, use hydro pump!"

"Hitmonlee, dodge and run in for a double kick!" Fay yelled out. The fighting type quickly evaded the gush of water by extending its legs and taking larger strides. It then ran in for the attack, ultimately landing it.

"Lapras, use sing!" James said. The transport pokémon then began to sing, putting the kicking pokémon to sleep.

"Hitmonlee, wake up!" Fay said as his pokémon took a nasty hit to the torso from lapras' hydro pump. It continued to take hits until it woke up a few minutes later, when lapras launched its body upwards and slammed down on its opponent with body slam, effectively defeating hitmonlee.

"Hitmonlee is unable to battle, lapras wins!" The judge declared.

"Return hitmonlee, you did a great job buddy. Alright James, you want a fight? You'll get it. Electabuzz, you're up!"

The electric pokémon exploded onto the field, ready to fight. Lapras also braced itself, understanding that this would be a tough fight.

"Lapras, use ice beam!" James cried out. Electabuzz jumped into the air to dodge the move. It landed on the frozen ground below it before attempting to rush at its opponent, slipping in the process. "Now lapras, use sing!"

"Plug your ears, electabuzz!" Fay countered. The electric pokémon listened, trying to cancel out the sound. Once it saw lapras finish, it slowly got back up before sliding off of the ice and back onto the sand, where it then unleashed a thunder at its opponent.

"Counter with hydro pump!" James yelled out. The two attacks met in midair and exploded on contact. Electabuzz then began to run at its opponent again. "Use ice beam at its feet!"

Electabuzz tried to jump again, but wasn't reflexive enough. Lapras had stopped it in its tracks by freezing its feet. Although…this wasn't a difficult problem to solve. Just as lapras was about to use sing, Fay commanded electabuzz to use thunder on its feet, in effect breaking the ice and allowing it to move. It plugged its ears again as lapras used sing.

"Lapras, use body slam!" James said, not quite realizing the mistake in doing this. The transport pokémon leapt into the air. However, as it was about to land, Fay commanded electabuzz to use thunderpunch. The electric type's fist started to glow as it slammed it into lapras' underbelly.

"Finish it off with thunder!" Fay commanded. Electabuzz unleashed a powerful blast of electricity, defeating lapras.

"Lapras is unable to battle, electabuzz wins!" The judge declared.

"Alright Fay, you're strong. But this ends now. Tyranitar, I choose you!"

Out of James' pokéball came a large, green dinosaur-like pokémon covered in armor-like material with a purple belly. Niko tried to gather data on it with his pokédex, but it didn't seem to register.

"Tyranitar, use sandstorm!" James commanded firmly, confident that he was now in control of the match. Sand began to kick off from the ground, surrounding the battlefield. Trying to protect his eyes, Fay commanded electabuzz go in for a thunderpunch. "Not so fat, tyranitar, use hyper beam!"

The orange stream of energy that erupted from its mouth hit electabuzz square in the torso, launching the pokémon several yards backwards. Electabuzz struggled to get up. Knowing that hyper beam took some time to recover, Fay made quickly with his response.

"Electabuzz, use thunder!" The electric type got up and launched a powerful surge of electricity at its opponent, although the sandstorm significantly weakened the impact of the move. Tyranitar then lumbered forward before jumping into the air and crashing back down, causing a small earthquake, knocking the electric type off balance.

"Electabuzz is unable to battle, tyranitar wins!"

"Alright then, dragonair, you're up!" Fay said, still confident that he could win this. "Use dragon rage!"

"Retaliate with hyper beam!" James said, throwing his hand out in a gesture. Tyranitar belted out another beam of energy from its mouth, meeting dragonair's dragon rage and quickly overpowering it. Dragonair fell backwards, buffeted from the storm and reeling from the damage from hyper beam. Fay, trying to find a way to at least damage tyranitar, then commanded another dragon rage, this time landing due to his opponent's need to recharge its energy. Tyranitar stepped back, recoiling from the purple fire as it took yet another one. Dragonair then rushed forward and used wrap, following up with a third dragon rage.

"Tyranitar, hyper beam!" James yelled out, a little frustrated that he allowed dragonair to do as much damage as it did. A second hyper beam was enough to subdue the dragon pokémon.

"Dragonair is unable to battle, tyranitar wins!"

"Wow folks, this tyranitar is really something! Makes you wonder where you can catch one of these pokémon to use for yourself!" Colton Goodshow said excitedly through the mic. "Can Fay come back from this one? He now only has two pokémon left, one of them having taken some serious damage!"

"Gyarados, come on out!" Fay commanded. _It's clear this thing is either a ground or rock type, and so gyarados might have a shot at beating it_. "Use water gun!"

"Water gun…really?" James said, slightly confused. "Alright then. Tyranitar, use rock slide!"

"Whack away the rocks with your tail!" Fay responded, choosing to ignore James' subtle taunt. The atrocious pokémon attempted to fling away the avalanche of rocks hurling towards it, but was unable to get them all, ultimately taking an incredible amount of damage from them. Tyranitar then unleashed a hyper beam, which gyarados also took, this time to the face.

"Gyarados, we can do this buddy. I believe you can! Water gun!"

The atrocious pokémon roared out as it unleashed a powerful burst of water at its opponent while it was recovering from its previous move. Tyranitar took the attack, nearly falling backwards, before using another rock slide to finish off gyarados.

"Gyarados is unable to battle, tyranitar wins! Fay will now send out his final pokémon!"

"Looks like Fay is finished. There's no way he can beat tyranitar and whatever James has after that…" Elliot said. JJ nodded in agreement. Niko and Brittany were both silent.

Fay looked down at his last pokéball, containing charizard. Taking a deep breath of air—and coughing out some of the sand—he tossed out his final pokéball.

"Charizard, I choose you!" He said in a similar manner to Niko when the two battled a couple rounds ago. "You can do this buddy. I believe in you. Always have."

The sandstorm subsided, leaving only charizard and tyranitar on the field. James begun by commanding a hyper beam.

"Charizard, fly into the air to dodge it!" Fay commanded. The flame pokémon leapt into the air, successfully dodging the attack. "Now, while its recovering, use seismic toss!"

"Tyranitar, stop it from picking you up!" James screamed out. His pokémon was unable to, as it tried to defend itself but had little energy left from using the hyper beam. Charizard picked it up anyways, albeit more slowly than previously, considering tyranitar's weight. The two flew up high into the air before descending back down to the sandy battlefield, and charizard letting go early to escape the crashing. Before tyranitar was able to get back up, charizard unleashed a dragon rage and flamethrower.

Getting up, the armor pokémon used rock slide. Fay commanded it to dodge each one but, just like gyarados previously, charizard wasn't able to dodge all of them. It crashed into the ground. After shoving a boulder off of it, the flame pokémon got up and unleashed a flamethrower to meet tyranitar's hyperbeam. The two attacks collided, sending a powerful shockwave that rocked the stadium.

"Now, while its recharging, use seismic toss!" Fay screamed out. Charizard rushed at its opponent, grabbed it, and flew back into the air.

As the two were about to land, James commanded tyranitar to use hyperbeam. The orange blast of energy hit charizard square in the face, causing it to let go and both crash headfirst into the ground. A large cloud of dirt and sand erupted.

"Charizard? Charizard!" Fay yelled out. "Are you okay, buddy?" Once he saw his starter pokémon get up, he was filled with hope. "Oh thank god. Charizard, can you still fight?" The flame pokémon turned around and nodded. "Alright buddy, let's finish this then, you and me. Just like we always do, got it? Use flame—huh?"

Charizard then collapsed onto the ground, leaving only tyranitar standing. A moment later, it also fell.

"Charizard and tyranitar are both unable to battle! Since James has one pokémon left, he is the winner!"

Fay ran over to his starter pokémon. "Hey buddy, you did a great job. I'm really proud of you." He said, embracing his fire pokémon. Charizard returned the embrace.

"Well folks, what a match that was! Looks like Fay's journey is over, and James will be advancing to the semifinals!" Colton Goodshow said through the mic.

Fay and charizard walked through the stadium exit to meet up with his friends, all of whom had nothing but praise on their tongues. Growlithe leapt out of JJ's arms and went to lick some of the wounds on charizard's legs.

"Thanks guys, we really gave it our best. That's all I can count on, right?"

"Yeah, I agree. Great job man," Niko said, holding out his hand. Fay returned the handshake and smiled warmly.

* * *

The next day, the group watched the final two rounds, both of which James and his tyranitar won, earning him the league title and the right to challenge the Elite 4 and the Champion in a week's time.

"At least I lost to the eventual winner. That kinda feels good," Fay said, smiling a little.

"There's definitely a positive side to everything," Brittany responded. The group was walking back out and to their suite when Elliot stopped them.

"Hey, guys, I'm actually heading home now. It was really cool hanging out with you guys. Let's do it again sometime!"

"Oh yeah, for sure. Stop by Pallet anytime this summer!" JJ said excitedly. Nodding passively, Elliot waved before turning around and walking out to the stadium grounds.

"So, let's go get our stuff and head home as well?" Niko asked. The rest of the group nodded, and within a half hour they were checked out of their suite and back on the road in the late afternoon. With the league behind them, the four trainers begin their long trek home.

…Or so they thought. Niko's family was still there, and offered them all a ride home, which took roughly 4-5 hours by car. Their journey over, the group eagerly accepted the offer.

"So Brittany, you plan on heading back home, or would you like to stay in Pallet for a bit?" Niko asked. It was clear that the brunette hadn't thought much of it. A few moments later, she gave an answer.

"If it's alright with you and your family, sure!" Niko's parents nodded, giving their son the a-okay to have his friend stay with them, but on one condition: she sleeps on the couch downstairs, and away from Niko's room.

"Mom, Dad, it isn't like that…"

"Sure it isn't, Niko. Sure it isn't…" Dad replied, chuckling a little. He continued to make similar jokes for the rest of the ride home, much to the displeasure of his son.


	53. Episode 53: Recovery

**Episode 53: Recovery**

 _Three months later_

In the aftermath of the Indigo League, the group stayed in Pallet Town to recover from their long journey. For a week or so, Brittany stayed in town to hang out with her friends, but eventually had to go back to Vermilion with a promise of coming back to visit.

Over the summer, the group each partook in different activities. Fay accepted an internship with Professor Oak, helping out with the pokédex technology and learning about new information relating to the Kanto-specific pokémon. This kept him relatively busy throughout the following months, not giving him a lot of time to train his team. Although, without another goal in mind, he just spent the time learning more about Oak's lab and the inner machinations of pokémon technology.

JJ spent the summer working at the local convenience store, having eevee, beedrill, and growlithe as his assistants. The customers loved growlithe and eevee, and often played with them while shopping. They tended to dislike beedrill, with the exception of the occasional trainer that wanted to battle it. During this time, growlithe began to grow a little larger, in addition to finally perfecting its flame wheel during a match with a new trainer. In addition, JJ helped around his household, assisting his mother in cleaning and running errands.

Niko, on the other hand, didn't do much with his time. Distraught by his performance in the Indigo League, he sat around for most of the summer, with the exception of helping his mother out with the occasional chores. There were times where he would go outside and train with his pokémon or teach Jake about his team, often allowing his brother to battle with them against either Fay or JJ. Otherwise, he didn't do much. His parents didn't seem to approve of this, often questioning him on what he wanted to do with his life. This questioning got particularly nasty one night during dinner.

"So Niko, what did you do today?" Dad asked before taking a bite of his salad.

"Nothing much, just watched some TV and trained with ivysaur and hitmonchan," Niko responded, looking down at his plate of food.

"So…just like any other day, right? Do you not know what you want to do next?" He said, his voice rising slightly. Niko shook his head.

"I have no idea. Clearly the whole trainer thing didn't work out, so maybe I could go back to school? I don't know…"

"Are you _still_ hung up on that defeat? Look son, I saw that battle. You did really well, don't say you're not a good trainer!"

"But I'm _not_! How do you not get that? If I was a good trainer, I could have beaten Fay! Speaking of which, he is a great trainer! He made it to the quarterfinals! His start fully evolved! He is doing an internship in something that he loves! And I have no idea what I am doing with my life!"

"Exactly! You're lazy—that's basically what you're telling me. You're lazy, and afraid of failure."

"I am not," Niko responded violently.

"Yeah, you are. If you weren't afraid of failure, you'd get right back out there and keep on training."

"But I am doing that!"

"Yeah, battling against Jake—who is using your own pokémon—doesn't cut it. I mean go out on another journey! Meet new people and pokémon, and keep getting better!"

"But why would I do that? I'd just be setting myself up for failure again."

"You just proved my point for me. Good job, Niko," Dad said, slamming his fork down.

"Honey, you need to calm down…" Mom said, holding her husband's hand.

"Calm down? No! I'm trying to make a point here. Niko doesn't want to try. He's a quitter, like usual. When the going gets rough, he just gives up!"

"That's not true, Dad."

"Oh really? Then get back out there and train if you want to get better!"

"But I can't! I don't know where to start, or where to go, or what to do!"

"Then figure it out! If you want it badly enough, it'll come to you. I believe it can."

"Whatever, Dad. You clearly can't empathize with me, so why should I even bother?" Niko said, getting up and storming up to his room.

Crashing down onto his bed, he looked up at the ceiling for a moment. Shellder and magnemite were resting on his bed with him, the other four on the carpet next to the bed. No matter how much he tried to ignore it, Niko couldn't seem to shake the memory of losing from his mind. It was like losing to Sabrina, only several times worse. He lost when it mattered the most, at the pinnacle of his nascent career as a pokémon trainer. And the loss made him feel almost empty inside—without purpose.

He turned on his side to look at his desk, where he placed his open badge case on display. The eight badges shone in the moonlight, the white light reflecting off of the small pieces of metal.

His pokémon noticed that he was upset, and all moved closer to him, similar to how they did in the immediate aftermath of their loss months ago. But, unlike Niko, they were prepared to keep getting better. They were always itching to go outside and battle, but they only did so when Niko wanted to, and that wasn't as often as they had hoped. On the occasions where they did, they all gave it their full energy to impress their feelings upon their trainer and friend. Especially ivysaur, who had the closest bond with Niko and was the de facto leader of their little team whenever Niko wasn't around.

The neglect had gotten to them a few times over the summer. On one occasion, pidgeot almost lashed out at Niko in anger when the trainer refused to go outside for the fifth day in a row. Even though it got Niko's attention, it was ephemeral at best—he went outside, but didn't train for more than an hour or two before heading back inside.

Niko lay down in his bed for a while, his mind lost in confusion. Several thoughts rushed through his mind—the battle, what his Dad had said, his melancholy, his inability to act, his pokémon, Fay, JJ, and Brittany…

He then fell asleep for the night.

* * *

The next morning, Brittany arrived back in Pallet Town, as promised. The first thing she did was arrive at Niko's house to drop her things off, as she would be staying for another week at most. Noticing her friend on the couch watching some game show, she walked over and sat down next to him.

"Hey, Niko, what's up?"

"Brittany? Oh! Hey! How're you?" The trainer said, getting up and embracing his friend.

"I've been alright, just helping around the house while my parents are off at work. I took a couple night classes at Vermilion University, but that just ended, so I don't have much going on in my life. What about you?"

"Nothing. These past three months have been really uneventful."

"Why is that?" Brittany inquired with a look of concern.

"I don't know, I just feel…empty inside. I don't know quite how to explain it…"

"Try to."

Niko looked at his friend, took a deep sigh, and began.

"Alright then. The loss to Fay really shook me. After the battle, I went up to my room and cried my heart out to my pokémon. I felt like a total failure, especially to them. I felt like everything I had done up until then had been a complete waste of my time. I mean, why travel for almost a year, training all of that time, only to lose so quickly? And to one of your best friends? It made no sense, and I thought that I was stronger than I actually am."

"Niko…" Brittany said softly, placing her hand on his shoulder, "Do you still believe this?" Niko nodded. "Well, don't. You're an amazing trainer. You might not realize it, but I do. Your parents do. JJ and Fay do. Elliot might not admit it, but he probably thinks you do. All of the gym leaders you've faced—they do, too! I don't see why you can't see it, too."

"I didn't try hard enough. I could have done better."

"Yeah, well so could Fay! And Elliot, and every other trainer that battled out there. Even James, who won the whole damn thing—he can do better! No trainer is perfect, and no great trainer wins all the time. It's losing that makes us stronger. Makes us better people. Understanding our faults and working to improve them—that's what separates good from bad people! Team Rocket never understood their faults—stealing pokémon or forcing them to join their organization…that is a fault that Archer never understood! Fay understood his faults. He lost for the first time against James, but he is out there doing something he loves—learning about technology. He keeps training and trying to get stronger."

"But I'm _not_ Fay!" Niko said, shouting now.

"I know you're not," Brittany replied, calming her friend down. "I was using him as an example of someone learning from their faults. Say, Niko, what's your dream?"

"What?"

"Your dream. Where do you want to go in life?"

"Uh…well, I want to be happy. I want to find something that makes me happy and keep doing it. I don't know what that is, though."

"Did you like going on this journey?" Niko nodded slightly. "Did you like meeting new pokémon and training them?" Niko nodded once again. "Well, why not keep doing that?"

"My Dad asked something similar. I don't even know where I would start…"

"Well, wherever you go, you can count me in."

"Huh?"

"I like travelling, too. This adventure…was the best thing I've ever done. I got to see more of the world than I had ever imagined. I got to have experiences that I'd never dream of. I met some incredible new pokémon, and some incredible friends, too. I want to keep doing that."

Niko was silent for a moment, but Brittany continued.

"Come on, let's go to the lab. I'm sure Fay is there. And, since it's the weekend, JJ probably isn't working anyways. Let's go!" She grabbed Niko's hand and led him out of his house and off to the lab.

"Oh, Niko, Brittany, what a pleasant surprise!" Professor Oak said cheerfully as the two trainers walked inside. "What can I do for you?"

"Is Fay around?" Brittany asked, having let go of Niko's arm.

"Yes, I believe he is out back with JJ, taking a lunch break,"

"Great, thanks!" Brittany said, walking out to the back of the lab, Niko trailing behind. Immediately noticing their two friends sitting on a white fence talking, she ran over, waving her hands. "Fay, JJ! Hi!"

"Brittany? Hey!" Fay said, getting off of the fence and bringing his friend into an embrace. JJ did the same. Both looked up to see Niko, and smiled. "Hey, Niko! Long time no see!"

"Hey Fay, JJ, how're you two doing?"

"Good Niko. Just uh finished my last day of work. Figured I'd had enough of that job."

"Yeah, and this is my last day as an intern. Oak gave me a pretty light load of work, so I finished early and just decided to hang out with JJ for a bit. What're you two up to today?"

"Well, Brittany just got here. She's in town for a week visiting."

The brunette nodded happily. "Yep! Staying with Niko's family. Say, I wanted to pitch an idea to you two, since Niko seems unsure of it."

"Yeah, what's up?" Fay asked curiously.

"Let's go on another adventure!" Brittany yelled out excitedly.

"Where would we go?" Fay responded, his interest piqued a little.

"I don't know, but Niko and I had a talk and we both decided that we love going on adventures, seeing the world, meeting new pokémon! And I wanted to see if you two were game as well."

Fay and JJ thought for a moment. Niko, shuffled his feet a little, slightly uncomfortable with it all.

"Yeah, let's do it," Fay responded calmly. "Why not check out the Johto region? That's where James got his tyranitar, right? Maybe there are other powerful pokémon out there that we can meet. And maybe there's another league we can compete in, right Niko?"

"I don't know…" Niko said, looking away. "I don't know if I want to keep training…"

"Was it our battle?" Fay said plainly, turning his friend's attention back to him.

"How'd you know?"

"Brittany told me you seemed stressed, both before and after our battle. But that never seemed like you, at least not the Niko that I know. The Niko that was always optimistic going into our gym battles, and the battle we had in the league. The Niko that went off to train his _blind_ bulbasaur so that he could rematch Sabrina is not the same Niko that got upset over losing at the league. I know you, Niko, and I know that you are ambitious. You _want_ to get better, but you're afraid to fail."

"That's what my Dad told me…"

"Well, he's kind of right. But you can move past that. I know you can. Your pokémon know you can. How are your pokémon, by the way?"

"They're fine…"

"Are they, _really_?"

"No. They don't seem happy. They want to keep getting better, too."

"That's my point, Niko! You gave them that chance! Your optimism and willingness to fight gave them a reason to train; to want to get stronger! To be the best that they could be because they saw your ambition and wanted to match it! They wanted to make you happy, because you saw potential in them, too!"

"Yeah, Niko, look at ivysaur. It's always loved battling, but you kept pushing it to do its best. The battle with Sabrina is a case in point. A lot of trainers would have given up if their pokémon was blinded, but you didn't. Your pidgeot, when it was a pidgey, wanted to become stronger. Now look at it? It kicks ass!" JJ added.

"Niko…you can choose to join us in Johto, and continue challenging gyms and meeting and training new pokémon, or you can sit around at home and mope. If you love travelling, and seeing the world and going on adventures, then this won't be a difficult choice for you. I'm going to talk to Professor Oak about Johto. You're free to join me if you want."

Fay then walked back into the lab, JJ and Brittany following behind him. Niko then walked over to the fence and leaned over on it.

 _Maybe they're right…I have been neglecting my pokémon. They want to keep getting stronger, and all I've done is look back on the past. That guy was right—maybe I do have potential. But I won't know it unless I try to reach for it, right?_

Niko continued to think about what Brittany, Dad, Fay, JJ, and that raven-haired man told him. What his pokémon have been trying to communicate with him.

"Oh, the Johto region? Why, yes, there are gyms there, and the Silver Conference is held around the same time as the Indigo League, if I recall correctly," Oak said as he sat at his desk, surrounded by Fay, JJ, and Brittany. "So, you plan on going there next?"

"Yes, sir. We wanted to ask for any advice," Fay replied.

"Sure thing, Fay! You might want to start by going to New Bark Town. It's a small town just west of here, maybe a day or two's walk. I can arrange for you a meeting with the regional professor there, Professor Elm. He studies pokémon breeding specifically, but also looks into the abilities that pokémon might have. Wonderful man, but a little quirky, if you catch my drift. Anyways, when do you plan on going?"

"How about tomorrow?" Fay, Brittany, and JJ turned around to see Niko standing in the doorway, walking towards them. "I'm in."

"Yay!" Brittany cheered. "I'm glad you came to your senses."

"Thank you all for it. I don't know what I would do without you guys. Anyways, where should we go first?"

"Apparently New Bark Town. It's a few days away, but it won't be too much of a hassle I'm sure," Fay responded. "We're getting a meeting with a guy named Elm."

"Excellent…so, tomorrow?" Niko said, patting Fay and JJ on the shoulder and looking at Brittany. The three trainers nodded eagerly. "Great! Wanna meet back here in the morning?"

"Yeah, let's do that," JJ said. "Just like last time!"

* * *

"Mom! Dad! We're home! I have an announcement to make!" Niko said, calling out for his family. He found them in the dining room setting the table for dinner.

"What's up, Niko?" Dad said as he put down his plate full of food. "Oh, and welcome back Brittany!"

"Guys…" Niko began, "I'm going on another adventure with Fay, JJ, and Brittany."

The three family members looked at him, all with looks of excitement. His Dad was the first to respond.

"Niko, that's excellent, son. Where you going?"

"The Johto Region."

"Oh! It's a great region. You should stop by and meet with Professor Elm if you get the chance."

"We plan to, Professor Oak is setting up a meeting with him," Niko then paused for a moment to sit down before continuing. "I also have a question…"

"What's up, Niko?" Mom asked curiously.

"Can you guys watch after my pokémon? I kind of want to start fresh."

"Of course! Jake can help watch them, right son?" Jake nodded happily, his mouth too full of food to respond verbally. Niko smiled, thanking his parents.

Later that night, he broke the news to his team. They seemed a little saddened, but were assured that Niko would call upon them if he needed to. In the meantime, he would leave them in the care of his family, and he jokingly told them that Jake would train with them even more than he did!

"Guys…" Niko began, "Thanks for everything. You made my journey worthwhile, and it was you guys that helped me make the decision to go to Johto. I want to continue to become a better trainer so that you can all grow stronger, too! I promise to come back after the Silver Conference with new ways of training. And, rest assured, you'll all come with me to the conference and we will go all the way this time!" He cheered. His pokémon did the same.

* * *

The following morning, Niko and Brittany packed up their things and said their farewells to Niko's family. Niko said an especially sad farewell to his team of pokémon. However, as he was walking away, he felt something hit his backpack. Turning around, he saw little magnemite there.

"Huh?" Niko said. "Magnemite…you should stay here to train. I promise to be back."

The magnet pokémon refused to leave, though. Eventually, Niko took the hint and, seeing Jake toss its pokéball in his direction, made a decision. Even his other five pokémon agreed—magnemite should go with him to continue training.

"Alright buddy, let's go to Johto. Together," Niko said, placing the pokéball in front of magnemite and returning the electric type into the ball to rest.

The two quickly arrived at Oak's lab, noticing Fay already there. "Where's JJ at?" Niko asked, looking around.

"No idea. He's probably late, as usual…" Fay rolled his eyes. Brittany chuckled a little under her breath as the three noticed a curly-haired young man running towards them.

"Guys! Guys…" JJ said, catching his breath as he arrived at the lab, growlithe at his feet. "Sorry for being late, had to help my mom with some stuff."

"No worries man, let's get going!" Niko said, waving to Professor Oak as the four headed west to the Johto region under the gaze of the morning sun, and onto their next adventure!

* * *

 **Author's note: Well, we made it through Season 1! I hope you all enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed writing it. I know that, as a season, it's pretty long, but I think that's what you get with these trainer fics. Anyways, I'm going to take a break for the next few days before starting Season 2, so you won't get spammed with email notifications in your inbox about new chapters uploaded :p. I think i'll start the first episode on Saturday, April 1st, and I'll think about keeping up with the two-episodes-per-day thing. If you think it's too much, please let me know! I don't want to be a burden to any potential fans by uploading too many chapters too quickly! I understand that it can be frustrating for some. Anyways, thank you all for reading and I hope to catch y'all in Season 2: The Johto Saga!**

 **Also thanks to the people who have left reviews (I should do this more often) throughout the season: Cake09877, WeS RoYaL, and Farla. I'd also like to thank the followers and favoriters not previously mentioned: Hello 12, InnerChild73, Lol7908, MerlockVonBaron, Ninjas Say Hi, ThePokemonTroll21, TiberiousKirk, TrAfAlgaRIAsSgUrL27, abdulmoizshahzad83, Athios, Gonzandex, Phantasma-chan, PhenioxMaster, and nahor295. And lastly, thanks to all the anonymous users who have kept up with it! I wouldn't have gone this far without you all!**


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